State at edge of organic revolution

By Staff
|
Google Oneindia News

Aizawl, Dec 3: After being declared as an organic state, Mizoram is all set to follow a well guided systematic approach towards uniform development in bio-farming.

Organic farming initiative had been successful in the state and widely acclaimed by the scientists of Indian Council for Agricultural Reasearch (ICAR), which was started in 1996, to demonstrate the efficacy in a few farmers plot in Lungmuat, about 60 km from here.

After receiving applauds from prominent institutions, the state has now emphasised on getting berth in world organic map through production, certification and marketing.

Mizoram is the first state to have adopted organic farming system after passing the Mizoram Organic Act 2004. Almost 89 per cent of production area is under organic farming at present.

State agriculture minister H Rammawia told UNI, '' The transition into the organic method of production was realised many years ago but the cultivators follow time-tested Indigenous Farming System (IFS), essentially organic in nature with the use of indigenous technical knowledge, in agriculture and allied sector.

The agriculture department had also chalked a few measures to introduce and adopt the areas for promoting organic farming in consonance with the National Organic Programme a decade ago, he said adding that now inorganic fertiliser and pesticide consumption in the state is known to be the least.

He said more than 80 per cent agricultural areas, which were under shifting cultivation few years back, have been freed from synthetic agro-chemical inputs despite large influence of modern accelarated production approach.

The bio-fertilizer production unit and bio-control laboratory of Neihbawi agricultre farm near here had been providing fertiliser and pesticides to 5000 farmers in the state to prevent environmental hazards and imbalance in soil nutrient level, Mr Rammawia mentioned.

''The uses of farmyard manure, compost, bio-fertiliser and pesticide are used to maintain international norms instead of synthetic fertilisers and chemical pesticides while corp rotation and green manureing crop practices are followed,'' he added.

Principal scientific officer of Mizoram Science and Technology department Dr Vanlalzara, who is monitoring the organic farming task here, opined the changing mindset towards healthy food and policies of the Centre to increase food grain export.

The growing demand for organic produces in the state had been encouraging the cultivators for last few years and the state is promoting it in other parts of the country, he said.

''The traditional practices of organic farming has been transformed into scientific bio-farming with improvised organic design for sustainable production as well as land productivity'', Dr Vanlalzara added.

UNI

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