India Among Top 3 Nations in Expanding Organic Farming in 2020: India has emerged as one of the top three countries in the world where the area under organic agriculture expanded the maximum in 2020. A total of 3 million hectares (mh) were added to organic farming worldwide in 2020, with Argentina accounting for 7,81,000 hectares (an increase of 21%), Uruguay for 5,89,000 hectares (an increase of 28%), and India for 3,59,000 hectares.
January 2023 Current Affairs Quiz
More About This Development:
Australia has the biggest amount of organic farming in the world (74.9 mh overall), at 35.7 mh. Whereas India has 2.8 mh. In contrast, out of total 34 lakh organic producers in the world, 16 lakh farmers in India are into certified organic farming.
Aid for the farming community:
The Cabinet has not yet given its approval to the Agriculture Ministry’s $2,481 billion plan to establish the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF). The project is set to run from the current fiscal year until 2025-26, with a goal of bringing 7.5 lakh farmers on board to practice non-chemical natural farming over 7.5 lakh hectares. According to the programme, farmers will get up to 15,000 per hectare (until 2025-26), based on any income lost as a result of switching to natural farming.
What is Organic Farming:
- Organic farming is a type of agriculture or farming which avoids the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators, & livestock feed additives.
- Crop rotation, crop residues, animal manures, legumes, green manure, off-farm organic wastes & biofertilizers, mineral-bearing rocks, etc. are all used in organic farming methods to sustain soil productivity.
Organic farming in India, Key Facts:
- Sikkim became the first State in the world to become fully organic.
- North East India has traditionally been organic, & the consumption of chemicals is far less than rest of the country.
- Madhya Pradesh tops the list with 0.76 million ha of land used for organic farming, or more than 27% of all the organic farming land in India.
- The top three states, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, & Maharashtra — account for about half the area under organic cultivation.
- Major organic exports from India are flax seeds, sesame, soybean, tea, medicinal plants, rice & pulses.
- Major exporting states: Assam, Mizoram, Manipur, & Nagaland.
