Sikkim will be the country’s first state to produce everything from maize and rice to orchid and ginger though organic farming starting in January next year.
Prime minister Narendra Modi may declare Sikkim as an organic state in January after almost all agricultural land holdings are certified as free from chemicals, sources said. The state’s agriculture secretary Khorlo Bhutia confirmed that the prime minister has been requested to make the announcement.
There are 77,190 hectares of farmland in Sikkim where both agricultural and horticultural crops such as rice, maize, orchids, cardamom, ginger, mandarin are grown. Out of that, around 44,000 hectares are currently certified as organic while the remaining will get certified by December 31, says Bhutia.
These areas are registered with agricultural and processed food products export development authority (Apeda).
The state has already enacted the Sikkim Agricultural and Horticultural Input and Livestock Feed Regulatory Act effective from January this year, which prohibits use of chemicals fertilisers, he said. Violation of the law attracts imprisonment of three months and a fine of Rs 1,00,000, he said.
“We are preparing in a big way with two large shows of fruits, vegetables, spices at one place and flowers at another, for the day when it will be announced. We can now claim practicing 100 per cent organic farming,” he said.
"Sikkim is a small state. It is sparsely populated. But is set to become a fully organic state soon. This is a matter of pride," the prime minister had said in the Lok Sabha in June last year. There is a major demand for organic produce in the world today and people are willing to pay large sums of money for such products, he had said, while assuring that the Centre would help Sikkim make a big dent in the global market.
The state has 185 clusters where it is mandatory to hold four awareness campaigns in a year so that all farmers get the latest information on organic farming. Though maize and rice are grown in about 50,000 hectares, the main cash crops are cardamom, flowers and mandarins, Bhutia said.
“It is a wrong notion that the yield drops when you start growing through organic methods. After the third year from the time you stop chemicals, the yield gradually goes up,” he said.
If the state is to achieve 100 per cent organic, the yield is just one aspect, Bhutia said and added that the income levels of farmers’ will go up, as they will get a premium for their produce. The soil health will improve and air and water will be free of chemicals, he said.
The number of tourists will go up when the state will be environmentally clean with air and water and it will also generate more employment, he said. The state government does not view the entire organic farming only through yield.
Prime minister Narendra Modi may declare Sikkim as an organic state in January after almost all agricultural land holdings are certified as free from chemicals, sources said. The state’s agriculture secretary Khorlo Bhutia confirmed that the prime minister has been requested to make the announcement.
There are 77,190 hectares of farmland in Sikkim where both agricultural and horticultural crops such as rice, maize, orchids, cardamom, ginger, mandarin are grown. Out of that, around 44,000 hectares are currently certified as organic while the remaining will get certified by December 31, says Bhutia.
These areas are registered with agricultural and processed food products export development authority (Apeda).
The state has already enacted the Sikkim Agricultural and Horticultural Input and Livestock Feed Regulatory Act effective from January this year, which prohibits use of chemicals fertilisers, he said. Violation of the law attracts imprisonment of three months and a fine of Rs 1,00,000, he said.
“We are preparing in a big way with two large shows of fruits, vegetables, spices at one place and flowers at another, for the day when it will be announced. We can now claim practicing 100 per cent organic farming,” he said.
"Sikkim is a small state. It is sparsely populated. But is set to become a fully organic state soon. This is a matter of pride," the prime minister had said in the Lok Sabha in June last year. There is a major demand for organic produce in the world today and people are willing to pay large sums of money for such products, he had said, while assuring that the Centre would help Sikkim make a big dent in the global market.
The state has 185 clusters where it is mandatory to hold four awareness campaigns in a year so that all farmers get the latest information on organic farming. Though maize and rice are grown in about 50,000 hectares, the main cash crops are cardamom, flowers and mandarins, Bhutia said.
“It is a wrong notion that the yield drops when you start growing through organic methods. After the third year from the time you stop chemicals, the yield gradually goes up,” he said.
If the state is to achieve 100 per cent organic, the yield is just one aspect, Bhutia said and added that the income levels of farmers’ will go up, as they will get a premium for their produce. The soil health will improve and air and water will be free of chemicals, he said.
The number of tourists will go up when the state will be environmentally clean with air and water and it will also generate more employment, he said. The state government does not view the entire organic farming only through yield.
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