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To promote organic farming in the country, the Government has been extending financial assistance to farmers under schemes such as Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) and Mission Organic Value Chain Development in North-East Region (MOVCDNER), Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister said.
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, Tomar said the farmers are provided financial assistance of ₹31,000 per hectare for three years under PKVY and ₹32,500 per hectare for three years under MOVCDNER for organic inputs such as seeds, bio-fertilisers, bio-pesticides, organic manure, compost/vermi-compost, botanical extracts etc. Support is also provided for the formation of farmer producers’ organizations (FPO), and for training, certification, value-addition and marketing of their organic produce.
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The government has also included organic cultivation on either side of river Ganga, natural farming, large area certification and support for individual farmers under PKVY to increase organic production in the country, he said.
Natural farming being promoted
Answering to a separate question in Lok Sabha on August 3, Singh said natural farming has been promoted under Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Padhati (BPKP), a sub-scheme of PKVY, since 2020-21. It emphasizes on chemical-free cultivation with more stress on biomass mulching; use of cow dung-urine formulations; plant-based preparations, and time-to-time working of soil for aeration.
Under BPKP, financial assistance of ₹12,200 per hectare for three years is provided for cluster formation, capacity building, and continuous hand-holding by trained personnel, certification and residue analysis. An area of 4.09 lakh hectare has been covered in eight States under this scheme. Organic/natural farming can be taken up on any land which is under cultivation.
He said rain-fed, hilly, remote areas with limited or no chemical inputs are preferred as the impact of organic cultivation in terms of soil improvement due to organic inputs is more visible.
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