Kerala forms organic farming mission to boost climate-smart farm practices

The Kerala Government has formed Organic Farming Mission to encourage the adoption of sustainable organic and climate-smart farming practices in the State.

The objective of the mission is to expand organic farming to 5,000 hectares in the State in the next five years through an annual target of 1,000 hectares.

Kerala Agriculture Minister P Prasad said the government had formally issued orders related to the mission on October 26.

In farms run by the State Agriculture Department, at least 10 per cent of the area will be set aside for organic farming. Another mandate of the mission is to make sure that selected beneficiaries or farms of organic farming schemes pursue the system at least for five years.

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In 2010, the Kerala Government had announced the Organic Farming Policy. In its election manifesto, the Left Democratic Front had also promised an institutionalised mechanism for promoting organic farming.

The mission will take steps to expand the system for certification, branding and marketing of organic agricultural products from Kerala. An organic farming protocol, which is in sync with protocols prevalent at the national and international levels, will be implemented as part of the activities for improving the marketing potential.

The mission will also focus on value addition of organic products.

The mission will also take the initiative to formulate organic farming schemes in every Assembly constituency in Kerala in collaboration with the Krishikoottam collectives and farmer producer organisations. A governing council chaired by the Agriculture Minister and an executive committee with members drawn from the heads of government departments and farm sector institutions will manage the affairs of the mission.