Haryana 5th in export of organic products

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 5

Haryana has one of the lowest areas under certified organic farming but it is ranked fifth in the country in exporting organic products.

5,303 hectares under certified organic farming

The state has 5,303 hectares under certified organic farming with 4,903 hectares under National Programme for Organic Production and 400 hectares under Participatory Guarantee System certification.

4,339 farmers engaged in growing organic cereals, millets, basmati

A mere 4,339 farmers are engaged in growing organic cereals and millets, medicinal plants, wheat, basmati rice, fodder, fruits and vegetables, oilseeds, processed food, pulses, spices, condiments, sugar, tea and tuber products.

The state has 5,303 hectares under certified organic farming with 4,903 hectares under National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) and 400 hectares under Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) certification.

A mere 4,339 farmers are engaged in growing organic cereals and millets, medicinal plants, wheat, basmati rice, fodder, fruits and vegetables, oilseeds, processed food, pulses, spices, condiments, sugar, tea and tuber products.

The state exported 38,986 MT worth Rs 348.77 crore in 2020-21. The facts come to light in a reply of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare on a question of land under organic farming in the country in the Rajya Sabha on July 30. Punjab has a total of 7,021 hectares under certified organic farming involving 12,861 farmers. It exported 326.03 MT of organic foods worth Rs 2.73 crore and was ranked 19th in the country in 2020-21. Only Andaman and Nicobar (1,360 hectares), Ladakh (817.85 hectares), Lakshadweep (3,595.51 hectares), Puducherry (183.65 hectares), Daman and Diu (1,100 hectares) and Chandigarh (1,300 hectares) have a lower area under organic farming than Punjab and Haryana.

The neighbouring Himachal Pradesh has 29,554 hectares under certified organic farming involving 60,891 farmers. Besides cereals and millets, dry fruits, fruits and vegetables, medicinal plant products, pulses, spices, sugar, tea and tuber products, it is also cultivating apple, basmati rice, coriander and ‘rajmah’.

The state exported a mere 7.88 MT of products worth Rs 1.62 crore in 2020-21. Jammu and Kashmir has 31,179.82 hectares under organic farming involving 24,772 farmers. It exported 607.59 MT worth Rs 10.77 crore. Madhya Pradesh has the maximum area under certified organic farming in the country. It has 11.96 lakh hectares under cultivation and 6.26 lakh farmers are engaged in it.

It exported 5 lakh MT of products earning Rs 2,683.58 crore in 2020-21, the highest in the country. It is followed by Maharashtra (Rs 913.74 crore), Gujarat (Rs 723.20 crore) and Kerala (Rs 355.34 crore). Haryana comes at fifth rank in exports. Experts say that this is because the traders in the state bought organic products from neighbouring states and exported them.

The Agriculture Ministry’s reply says that the Centre has been promoting organic farming through dedicated schemes namely Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana and Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region since 2015-16.

Both the schemes stress on end-to-end support to organic farmers — from production to certification and marketing. Post-harvest management support, including processing, packing, marketing is made an integral part of these schemes to encourage organic farmers. The government has also initiated the Large Area Certification programme since 2020-21 to certify large traditional organic areas such as hills, islands, tribal or desert belts with no history of genetically modified organisms and agrochemical uses.

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