New Delhi: Union government is implementing a cluster based programme called Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)to encourage organic farming, Ministry of Agriculture said. An amount of Rs 300 crore has been earmarked for the scheme for the year 2015-16. Under it, 50 or more farmers will form a cluster having 50 acre land to take up organic farming.
By three years, 10,000 such clusters will be formed covering 5.0 lakh acre area.There will be no liability on the farmers for expenditure on certification, the Ministry said in a statement.
Every farmer will be provided Rs 20,000 per acre in three years for seed harvesting of crops and to transport produce to the market. Organic farming will be promoted by using traditional resources and the organic products will be linked with the market, it said. It will increase domestic production and certification of organic produce by involving farmers. Cultivated area under certified organic farming has grown almost 17 fold in last one decade (42,000 ha in 2003-04 to 7.23 lakh ha in 2013-14).
The Centre had implemented the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) in the year 2001.
The national programme involves the accreditation schemes for certification agencies, norms for organic production, promotion of organic farming etc. States like Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Nagaland, Mizoram, Sikkim have been promoting organic farming.
The government is promoting it through various programmes like National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), Paramaparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP), Network Project on organic farming of ICAR. (UNI)
