Uttarakhand Government empowers Organic Farmers at CII Agro Tech 2014

By 121 News Reporter

Chandigarh 25^th November:- With the aim to promote organic farming under its subsidy schemes as also to provide four-stepped assistance to farmers from the region and hence enable them cultivate, market and sell their organic produce efficiently, the Government of Uttarakhand,participating as the Focus State aggressively interacted with thousands of farmers at CII Agro Tech 2014, organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at Chandigarh.

The Uttarakhand Government officials were seen interacting with the farmers on all four days trying to provide them maximum support and empower them in four steps viz – how to select the proper seeds, best practices in cultivation techniques, quality control, certification and finally assisting them in marketing so as to create a bridge between the farmers and the prospective buyers. At specific stalls catering to Seed Production, Sericulture, Horticulture and Farmer Utility, the officials shared their subsidy benefits which ranged up to 50% to help them gain 'greater returns at lower investments'.

Vishal from Uttarakhand Organic Commodity Board, remarked that as a 'land of Organic Farming', our government is committed to provide the interested organic farmers with all possible marketing and logistics support for their organic produce to help them get the desired price and hence be self reliant. He added that today, organic food has become the buzzword across the world, courtesy its unique health giving qualities, but in Uttarakhand, the simple-hearted farmers have long been producing the same without use of any chemical fertilizers for their own consumption. Our government is encouraging them to adopt large-scale production, since it is in huge demand in the whole nation.

M S Sagwan from the Uttarakhand Seed Certification Board informed that to enhance farmers' earnings, we act as a bridge between the farmer and the seller by offering the certification services for organic produce to farmers to ensure that their produce meets top standards. Hence, the farmers get credibility for their produce while the buyer is assured of the best quality.