AHMEDABAD: Even as the Central government claims to be working hard to expand organic farming throughout India, Gujarat is yet to pick up the pace as land used for organic farming has not risen by an inch in the last six years.
Every year, the government announces the budget for organic farming but has failed to captivate Gujarat farmers. In Gujarat, around 9,60,000 hectares of land are cultivated, with just 32092.51 hectares being organically cultivated.
According to official data, organic farming covered 30,092 hectares in 2014-2015, and it expanded by 2,000 hectares in 2015-2016. However, from 2016 to 2022 there is no substantial rise in land used for organic farming.
The Central government launched the ‘Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana’ (PKVY) to promote organic farming.
The Gujarat government which has already developed its own organic farming strategy, appears to have failed to entice farmers to organic farming. With over 10,27,865 organic agricultural farmers in the country registered under PKVY, Gujarat's farmer's name goes missing.
According to Lok Sabha's answer on 21st March 2023, the Central government also has not released any funds for Gujarat in 2021-2022 under the PMKY scheme as there has been slow progress in utilizing funds of PMKY.
Gujarat Congress spokesperson Parthiv Raj Kathwadia claimed, "According to the Lok Sabha reply, 8184.81 crores have been released in the country under PKVY during the year 2021-2022, but Gujarat has been given zero funds in 2021-22, and not a single penny has been spent by the Gujarat government to attract or encourage organic farming farmers."
It is significant that the Gujarat Natural Farming and Organic Agricultural University was established six years ago by the Gujarat government to guide and divert farmers in Gujarat to organic farming.
According to the vice-chancellor of this university, farmers in Gujarat show more interest towards natural farming than organic farming.
Dr C.K. Timbadia Vice Chancellor of Gujarat Natural Farming and Organic Agricultural University said “Natural farming has become more popular among Gujarat farmers, with cow-based natural farming growing in popularity. There are currently 5,37,000 thousand farmers practising natural farming in Gujarat, with natural farming covering 5.17 thousand hectares.”
“Another important point is that we have not made much progress in the certification of organic farming. While the process of natural farming certification is handled by a committee of the Government of India, farmers in Gujarat are shifting from organic farming to natural farming as the volume of natural farming increases.”