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Organic Farming is poised to become 75000 cr rupee market by 2025. The Indian Organic market is expected to grow at an annual rate of more than 20%.  However, India’s share in the global organic market is just 1%. India has potential but there are challenges.

The road to transforming the agricultural practices in India to absolutely an organic one, is accompanied by challenges that require expert intervention and a proper discussion.

We shall study them in brief.

Context

• The relevance and need for an eco-friendly alternative farming system arose from the ill effects of the chemical farming practices adopted worldwide during the second half of the last century.
• In the present times, the practice of organic farming has gathered immense prominence in India as the government introduced several welfare measures and subsidies to promote such practices.
• Organic farming is one of the several approaches found to meet the objectives of sustainable agriculture.
• It opens up a sustainable doorway to prevent various health hazards originating from the agro-based products that we consume.

What is Organic Farming?

• Organic farming is an agricultural system that uses fertilizers of organic origin such as compost manure, green manure, and bone meal and places emphasis on techniques such as crop rotation and companion planting.
• It is a system of management and agricultural production that combines a high level of biodiversity with environmental practices that preserve natural resources.
• It may also have rigorous standards for animal welfare.

Organic Farming in India

• Organic farming is in a nascent stage in India. About 2.78 million hectare of farmland was under organic cultivation as of March 2020, according to the Union Agriculture Ministry.
• This is two per cent of the 140.1 million ha net sown area in the country.
• The top three states — Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra — account for about half the area under organic cultivation.
• Madhya Pradesh tops the list with 0.76 million ha of area under organic cultivation — that is over 27 per cent of India’s total organic cultivation area.
• Sikkim is the only state to be considered fully organic.

Important Government Initiatives

India introduced the organic farming policy in 2005.

The 2.78 million ha was covered under organic farming in India is about two per cent of the 140.1 million ha net sown area in the country. Of this,

1. 1.94 million ha is under National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP)
2. 0.59 million ha under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)
3. 0.07 million ha under Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Regions (MOVCDNER)
4. 0.17 million ha under state schemes or non-schemes

This shows that NPOP scheme covers about 70 per cent of the organic area of the country, of which 30 per cent is under conversion.

Need for Organic Farming in India

The present system of agriculture which we call ‘conventional’ promoted an overriding quest for accumulation of wealth ignoring many objects of sustainability.

• Reducing ecological damage: The need for organic farming in India arises from the unsustainability of agriculture production and the damage caused to ecology through the conventional farming practices.
• Averting heavy mechanization:  The high cost of the machines necessitated high profits, which in turn put pressure to raise productivity. Then, only those crops with high productivity were cultivated which needed increased quantities of fertilizers and pesticides.
• Increasing menace of pests: Increasing use of pesticides resulted in the damage to environment and increased resistance of insects to them. Pesticides harmed useful organisms in the soil.
• Productivity issues: The monoculture of high yielding seeds required external inputs of chemical fertilizers. The fertilizers also destroy soil organisms leading to reduction of crop yields in the long run.
• Food safety: The consumers are increasingly concerned about the quality of the products they consume and food safety has become a crucial requirement. Safety, quality and hygienic standards are increasingly becoming popular.
• Employability of agriculture: The agriculture and allied sectors in India provides employment to 65 per cent of the workers and accounts for 30 per cent of the national income.  
• Combatting desertification: Organically cultivated soils are relatively better attuned to withstand water stress and nutrient loss. Their potential to counter soil degradation is high and it may help to combat desertification.
• Maintenance of genetic diversity: The genetic base of crops is very important and a reduction of genetic diversity leads to the emergence of pests on a large scale.

Benefits of Organic Farming

• Establishing harmony with nature: Organic agricultural practices are based on a maximum harmonious relationship with nature aiming at the non-destruction of the environment.
• Improvement in Soil Quality: Soil quality is the foundation on which organic farming is based. Efforts are directed to build and maintain the soil fertility through the organic farming practices.
• Increased Crop Productivity and Income: The cost of cultivation is lower in the organic farming due to the non-use of fertilizers and chemical insecticides. The yields and net income are low, but it increased progressively with years.
• Low incidence of Pests:  Bio-control methods have been successful in pest control. Indigenous technological products such as Panchagavya (five products of cow origin) which was experimented.
• Employment Opportunities: Organic farming requires more labour input than the conventional farming system.
• Indirect benefits:
• Consumers get healthy foods with better palatability and taste and nutritive values
• Farmers are indirectly benefited from healthy soils and farm production environment

Various challenges

(A) Raising agricultural productivity per unit of land:

• This is the main engine of agricultural growth as virtually all cultivable land is farmed.
• Water resources are also limited and water for irrigation must contend with increasing industrial and urban needs.
• All measures to increase productivity will need exploiting, amongst them: increasing yields, diversification to higher value crops, and developing value chains to reduce marketing costs.

(B) Reducing rural poverty through a socially inclusive strategy that comprises both agriculture as well as non-farm employment:

• Rural development must also benefit the poor, landless, women, scheduled castes and tribes.
• Moreover, there are strong regional disparities: the majority of India’s poor are in rain-fed areas or in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic plains. Reaching such groups has not been easy.
• Poverty alleviation is a central pillar of the rural development efforts of the Government and the World Bank.

(C) Ensuring that agricultural growth responds to food security needs:

• The slow-down in agricultural growth has become a major cause for concern.
• Policy makers need to initiate and conclude policy actions and public programs to shift the sector away from the existing policy.

Way forward

(1) Promoting new technologies and reforming agricultural research and extension:

• Major reform and strengthening of India’s agricultural research and extension systems is one of the most important needs for agricultural growth.

(2) Improving Water Resources and Irrigation/Drainage Management:

• Agriculture is India’s largest user of water. There is a need to manage as opposed to exploit the use of groundwater.

(3) Facilitating agricultural diversification to higher-value commodities:

• Encouraging farmers to diversify to higher value commodities will be a significant factor for higher agricultural growth, particularly in rain-fed areas where poverty is high.

(4) Promoting high growth commodities:

• Some agricultural sub-sectors have particularly high potential for expansion, notably dairy. The livestock sector, primarily due to dairy, contributes over a quarter of agricultural GDP and is a source of income for 70% of India’s rural families.

(5) Developing markets, agricultural credit and public expenditures:

• India’s legacy of extensive government involvement in agricultural marketing has created restrictions in internal and external trade, resulting in cumbersome and high-cost marketing and transport options for agricultural commodities.

Topics for Today’s questions:

GS-1    Social Empowerment, Communalism, Regionalism & Secularism.

GS-2     Executive and Judiciary

GS-3     Internal Security

GS-4    Public/Civil Service Values and Ethics in Public Administration: Status and Problems; Ethical Concerns and Dilemmas in Government and Private Institutions; Laws, Rules, Regulations and Conscience as Sources of Ethical Guidance

Questions:

Question 1)

 

Q.1 What do you understand by the term secularism? Discuss how Indian concept of secularism is broader than western concept? (15 Marks)

 

Question 2)

Q.2 Highlighting the significance of Fast Track Courts (FTCs) in India, discuss the issues plaguing their functioning. Also, suggest some measures to improve their functioning. (10 Marks)

Question 3)

Q.3 Explain how crypto-currencies can emerge as a new vehicle for money laundering or terrorist financing. (10 Marks)

Question 4)  

Q.4 How can organizational culture impact public service motivation and sustain values in administration? (10 Marks)

 

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Context

• Several initiatives have been undertaken by the Centre Government to develop North Eastern Region holistically for improving basic infrastructure and providing connectivity in the region.
• In this article, we shall discuss and analyse all these challenges and initiatives taken for Infrastructure Development in the NE region of our country.

North-East India: A Backgrounder

• The Northeast region of India comprises eight states- Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Tripura and Sikkim.
• According to 2011 census this 3.78% of country’s population resides in this region.
• It also comprises approx. 7.98% of country’s area including 5,483 Km of India’s international borders.
• These eight states also constitute 3.37% of country’s total agriculture land holding and 34.5% of the total bamboo bearing area in the country.

Various associated issues

[A] Security

(i) Leftist insurgency

• The Maoist rebellion in Northeast India is at present in its ‘latent phase’. It basically involves arms dumps and identification of local militant elements.
• However, these days, militancy and extortion has become an organised activity in the region and is one of the major sources of funds for the militants.

(ii) Drug smuggling

• Golden Triangle comprises of the regions of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar it has been one of the largest opium-producing areas of the world since the 1950s.
• Drugs produced there enters into India through Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland from Bhamo, Lashio, and Mandalay in Myanmar.
• Moreh (Manipur), Champai (Mizoram), Dimapur (Nagaland), and Guwahati (Assam) have become the nucleus of drug trafficking industry in India’s northeast.

[B] Developmental issue: Connectivity with mainland

• The NER is connected to mainland India only through a narrow stretch of land (about 22 km wide) in West Bengal called the ‘Siliguri Corridor’, sometimes known as the “Chicken’s Neck”.
• Except for this narrow Siliguri Corridor, the entire northeastern part of the country is bound by international borders.

[C] Sovereignty threats

• Neighbouring countries like China and Myanmar are accused of promoting insurgency in the region.
• China’s claim on Arunachal Pradesh and its water diversion plans on the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet are creating a public perception in the northeast that China is a threat to India.
• This has created positive influences on the minds of the insurgents .

[D] Sub-national aspirations

• The region is populated by a number of different communities, with diverse cultures, languages and customs.
• It is also marked by difficult terrain, backward areas, and limited connectivity. This area was known for the active presence of a number of militant groups.

Key issues:

1. Demands for autonomy: This demand arose in Tripura and Manipur which compromised the state of Assam. This majorly arose when the non-Assamese political leaders felt that the Assamese was forcibly imposed upon them.

2. Secessionist Movement: The Mizo hills area in Mizoram never felt that they were under the British therefore after independence they did not consider themselves as part of India. Several campaigns started to be independent states.

3. Movements against outsiders: This issue has taken place in several states of the Northeast. The Assam movement was such a movement against outsiders because they suspected that there were huge numbers of illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

Root causes of turmoil in NE

• Colonial past: The connection between the NER and the rest of India is relatively recent, dating back to 1826 with the signing the Treaty of Yandaboo.
• No historical ties: It was when Burma ceded Assam, Manipur, Jaintia hills, Tripura and Cachar to the British at the end of the First Anglo-Burmese War.
• Heavy militarization and AFSPA: Even under the British, the region was mostly seen as providing a ‘buffer zone’ from Burma and China. This perspective continued after independence leading to heavy militarization.
• Abrupt integration: The integration of NER into the rest of the country was ‘abrupt’, with no prior history. The states were integrated and demarcated into ad hoc units for administrative convenience.
• Political disconnect: The participation of the northeastern state governments in any development activity is nearly non-existent. Politics for them has merely left to Tribal Affairs.
• Local aspirations: The region’s own politics or the political aspirations of fragmented tribes were marginalised within the larger political discourse.
• Others: Inflation is another fuel to the turmoil. Distribution is mostly road-based and disruptions in movement, particularly during the six-month-long rainy season, causes sporadic fuel scarcity in the hill States.

Opportunities in the NER

[A] Tourism

• NE Region of India has immense resource potential to develop tourism.
• Assam is the leading state in terms of overall inflow of tourists’ in the region while Sikkim proves to be preferred destination of foreign tourists.
• The region offers enchanting visits for tourists interested in wild life, religious, cultural and ethnic tourism, river cruises, golf and a host of others.

[B] Emerging market

• The North East is a fast-growing market with untapped opportunities for investment, trade and tourism.
• It has the potential to become a nodal point of India’s growth story.
• It is abundantly endowed with natural resources, mineral and forest wealth, diverse flora and fauna and fertile land for cultivation of exotic fruits and vegetables.

[C] Agricultural Potential

• Traditionally, the North East is known for tea, but it could also offer plantation and export opportunities for a wide range of crops including oil palm.
• Similarly, the region has about 50 species of bamboo, 14 varieties of bananas and 17 varieties of citrus fruits.
• North-Eastern states also have a huge production of fruits such as pineapples and oranges.

[D] Rich mineral resources

• The Northeast region of India has an abundant mineral comprising chiefly of lime- stone, coal, natural oil and gas, uranium, feldspar, and others.
• The total hydrocarbon deposits (oil and gas) accounts for 20% of the total India.

[E] Gateway to the East

• The NE region is a vantage entry point to south-eastern Asian markets.
• Given its location, the Northeast assumes the role of bridging the space between mainland India and other Southeast Asian nations.
• Taking this idea forward, the government decided to focus more on improving its relation with ASEAN and the East Asian countries.
• It was also aimed at eliminating the insurgency problem in the NE once and for all by way of opening up the region to Southeast Asia.

Connectivity in the region

(A) Road

• Under Bharatmala Pariyojana (BMP) roads stretches aggregating to about 5301 km in NER have been approved for improvement.
• Out of this, 3246 km road length has been approved for development of Economic Corridors in the North East.
• Under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, road length of 20,708 km has been already constructed.
• Other major development include construction of bridges of over the Brahmaputra to narrow down distances.

(B) Railway

• There are plans to provide a railway link for the NE states through 20 major railway projects, encompassing 13 new lines with a length of nearly 2,624 kms.
• The Murkongselek (Assam) and Pasighat rail project is already under implementation.
• The most important of them is 378-km Bhalukpong (West Kameng, Arunachal)-Tenga (Arunachal)-Tawang (Arunachal) rail connectivity that will reach a height of 10,000 ft to the Tibet border.

(C) Air connectivity

• The Pakyong Airport in Sikkim is the first greenfield airport in Northeast India. It is situated around 30 kilometers from Gangtok.
• The launch of the UDAN regional air connectivity scheme (2016) saw a number of new air links in the region.
• The most important of them is Pasighat (2018), the first-ever commercial air link to Arunachal.

(D) Digital connectivity

• Telecom Commission has approved a comprehensive strategy to implement BharatNet in North East Region (NER).
• Under this strategy, 4240 Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the North-East are to be connected by broadband and by satellite connectivity.

Way forward

(i) Infrastructure and connectivity

• These are two basic requirements essential for economic development of a region.
• The need for infrastructure becomes more acute for hilly and mountainous areas that are on one hand difficult to traverse and on the other hand tend to be sparsely populated.
• Thus, there is a need for heavy investments in infrastructure development.

(ii) Timely completion of projects

• Most North Eastern States are resource-starved and it is vital that funds are properly accounted for.  
• In addition, projects that are retained and put on priority lists raise the expectations of the people.
• This further contributes towards deficits in confidence of the people upon the Central Government.

(iii) Single nodal agency

• Another challenge is that there are multiple bodies and agencies like the NEC, DoNER and the recently created North East Forum.
• There is a need for clarity on the roles between these bodies and budgets need to be allocated to the States.
• Flexibility should be allowed for the State governments for utilization of these allocations.

(iv) Tourism

• Tourism is one of the alternatives that can play a pivotal role in the socio-economic development of the NER.
• The challenge lies in making the region accessible to the tourists from mainland India and other countries.
• Sense of integration can be imbibed through various projects such as Dekho Apna Desh etc. among the NE youth.

Conclusion

• It is evident fact that, for a long time, the North East was a neglected and forgotten part of the country.
• The region has great potential to develop not just as a self, sustaining economic unit of India but also contribute to the success story of the country.