Sikkim, The First Organic Indian State

 

 

How did it all start?

In 2010, the government formulated and launched the Sikkim Organic Mission with clear goals which helped them achieve the all-organic status in January 2016. The initiative covered 190,000 acres of farmland and benefitted 66,000 farmer families to switch to organic farming.

Sikkim has recently become very famous around the world for becoming the first state of India and in the world to be fully organic. It won the UN Food and Agro-ecological Organization’s Future Policy Award 2018. It competed with 51 nominated policies from 25 different countries for the best policy promoting agro-ecological and sustainable food systems.

जैविक खेती (Organic Farming) है क्या?

जैविक खेती सदाबहार प्राचीन पद्धति है जिससे पर्यावरण शुद्ध बना रहता है और भूमि का प्राकृतिक स्वरूप भी बना रहता है। इसके प्रयोग से मिट्टी उपजाऊ रहती है और सूखे जैसी समस्या का सामना नहीं करना पड़ता है। 

जैविक खेती में रासायनिक उर्वरकों की जगह जीवाश्म खादों का प्रयोग किया जाता है। साथ ही, खरपतवार कीटनाशकों की जगह जैविक खाद का प्रयोग किया जाता है। 

जैविक खेती में गोबर खाद, कम्पोस्ट खाद, हरी खाद, बायो-पेस्टिसाइड, केंचुआ खाद, नीम खली, लेमन ग्रास और फल के अवशेष का प्रयोग किया जाता है। इसमें जीवाणु कल्चर फॉलो होता है। 

 

Organic Farming: Sikkim Case Study

 1 Sikkim is first organic state in the world and all farmlands in the state are certified organic.

2 State’s policy approach reaches beyond organic production and has proven transformational for its citizens.

3 It primarily focuses socioeconomic aspects such as consumption and market expansion, cultural aspects as well as health, education, rural development and sustainable tourism.

4 The organic farming policy implemented by state has phased out chemical fertilizers and pesticides and achieved total ban on sale and use of chemical pesticides in the state.

5 The transition has benefitted more than 66000 farming families in state.

6 Transition to 100% organic state also has greatly benefited its tourism sector and numbers of tourists have increased by over 50% between 2014 and 2017. 

7 With this Sikkim has set excellent example for other Indian states and countries worldwide for successfully upscale agroecology.

8 Sikkim was awarded UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) Future Policy Gold Award (Gold Prize) for its achievement in becoming the world’s first totally organic agriculture state.

 

 

Sikkim's organic mission started in 2003, when its Chief Minister Pawan Chamling declared his intent to make Sikkim India's first organic state. Chamling has been reelected five times, so he was able to oversee the entire process. First, the state officially banned the sale of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, forcing its farmers to go organic. And it ran several events like a two-day workshop in March 2010 where organic experts and scientists advised farmers on making the transition. But Sikkim's organic switch is not just good for public health; it's also good for the economy as organic produce has higher profit margins for farmers,

 

Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the Sikkim Organic Festival 2016

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the Sikkim Organic Festival 2016, at January 18. He addressed the Plenary Session of the National Conference on Sustainable Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, at Gangtok in Sikkim. The Prime Minister digitally launched the logo of Sikkim Organic and handed over it to the Chief Minister of Sikkim, Shri Pawan Chamling.

In his address, the Prime Minister paid homage to former Governor of Sikkim, Shri Rama Rao. He praised Sikkim Chief Minister Shri Pawan Chamling for his vision of welfare for farmers and tribes. He credited this vision for the development that the State is witnessing and said the welfare and development issues raised by the Chief Minister would be investigated by the Union Government.

 

Advantages of organic farming

1 Farmers can reduce their production costs because they do not need to buy expensive chemicals and fertilizers.

2 Healthier farm workers.In the long term, organic farms save energy and protect the environment.

3 It can slow down global warming.Fewer residues in food.

   

The Effects

Conventional agriculture causes increased greenhouse gas emissions, soil erosion, water pollution, and threatens human health. Organic farming has a smaller carbon footprint, conserves and builds soil health, replenishes natural ecosystems for cleaner water and air, all without toxic pesticide residues.

 

Schemes to promote organic farming in India - Features

National Programme for Organic Production, It involves the following: ...

The following states have been promoting organic farming through this scheme: ...

1 Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana. ...

2 National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture. ...

3 The Mission specifically involves SHM or Soil Health Management through: ...

 

जैविक खेती के हैं बहुत फायदे

आज के समय में जैविक खेती तेज़ी से लोकप्रिय हो रही है। भारत समेत पूरा विश्व इसे अपना रहा है। चूँकि इसके फायदे ही इतने सारे हैं कि यह पर्यावरण की सुरक्षा के साथ-साथ हम इंसानों को बेहतर अनाज देता है।

आर्गेनिक फार्मिंग से खेती के मित्र कीटों का संरक्षण होता है। इससे भू-जल स्तर में इज़ाफा होता है। साथ ही सबसे बड़ी बात इससे कृषि लागत घटने के साथ उत्पादन की गुणवत्ता भी बढ़ती है। 

इससे बैलेंस फार्मिंग समेत इकोलॉजी अच्छे से काम करती है। फसलों का चक्र पालन होता है जिससे उन्हें उचित पोषण मिलता है। 

एक आंकड़े के अनुसार, किसान अपनी खेती की फसल का सिर्फ 25 से 40 प्रतिशत हिस्सा ही इस्तेमाल कर पाता है। वहीं, 600 बिलियन टन कृषि अवशेषों को अपने खेत को फिर से नई फसल उगाने के लिए तैयार करने के लिए जला देते हैं। 

साल 2025 तक देश में जैविक खेती का करीब 75 हज़ार करोड़ रुपए का कारोबार होने का अनुमान है। ऐसे में, इसमें आधुनिक तकनीकों के प्रयोग के साथ-साथ लोगों को जैविक खेती को लेकर प्रशिक्षण देने की जरूरत है। 

चूँकि जब यह एक बड़े पैमाने पर होना शुरू हो जाएगा तब बाज़ार में इससे जुड़ी बिक्री और खरीद भी बढ़ जाने की संभावना है। 

 

 

 

 

Sikkim is first organic state in the world and all farmlands in the state are certified organic.

 

State’s policy approach reaches beyond organic production and has proven transformational for its citizens.

It primarily focuses socioeconomic aspects such as consumption and market expansion, cultural aspects as   well as health, education, rural development and sustainable tourism.

The organic farming policy implemented by state has phased out chemical fertilizers and pesticides and achieved total ban on sale and use of chemical pesticides in the state.

The transition has benefitted more than 66000 farming families in state.

Transition to 100% organic state also has greatly benefited its tourism sector and numbers of tourists have increased by over 50% between 2014 and 2017. 

With this Sikkim has set excellent example for other Indian states and countries worldwide for successfully upscale agroecology.

Sikkim was awarded UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) Future Policy Gold Award (Gold Prize) for its achievement in becoming the world’s first totally organic agriculture state.