Organic Adoption and Certifications
“If agriculture goes wrong, nothing else will have a chance to go right in our country.”
Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for about 58% of India’s population. Agriculture employed more than 50% of the Indian work force and contributed 17–18% to the country’s GDP.
The Green Revolution started in 1965 with the first introduction of High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds in Indian agriculture. This was coupled with better and efficient irrigation and the correct use of fertilizers to boost the crop. The end result of the Green Revolution was to make India self-sufficient when it came to food grains.
Excessive application of agrochemicals is deteriorating the quality of soil as well as groundwater due to the addition of nitrogen, phosphorous, and persistent pesticides. Groundwater contamination poses several human health problems as it is the main source of drinking water. Implementation of sustainable agricultural practices and mitigation measures can prevent the groundwater contamination from these agrochemicals along with high crop yield as well as safeguards to the environmental ecosystems.
Sheel Biotech Limited is rendering its service in the field of biotechnology for the last three decades for the uplifting of livelihood of rural populace. The Government of India along with State Governments is now promoting organic farming under various schemes to reduce the side effects of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Consequently, SBL has volunteered to give a helping hand for this noble cause and started implementation of organic projects since 2009 in various states of the country.
Organic Agriculture
Organic Agriculture is a system that relies on ecosystem management rather than external agricultural inputs. It is a system that begins to consider potential environmental and social impacts by eliminating the use of synthetic inputs, such as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, veterinary drugs, genetically modified seeds and breeds, preservatives, additives and irradiation. These are replaced with site-specific management practices that maintain and increase long-term soil fertility and prevent pests and diseases.
“Organic agriculture is a holistic production management system which promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity. It emphasises the use of management practices in preference to the use of off-farm inputs, taking into account that regional conditions require locally adapted systems. This is accomplished by using, where possible, agronomic, biological, and mechanical methods, as opposed to using synthetic materials, to fulfill any specific function within the system.” (FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission, 1999).
Experience of Sheel Biotech Limited in the field of Organic Agriculture
SBL started its journey in the field of organic farming in 2009 as Implementing Agency / Service Provider / Facilitating Agency to various State Governments under different govt. sponsored schemes such as NHM / MIDH, RKVY, PKVY, MOVCD-NER, BPKP and NRLM. We are implementing “Adoption and Certification of Organic Farming” projects under both the organic certification system i.e. National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) and Participatory Guarantee System of India (PGS India). SBL has been working in 15 states (Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura) covering an area of more than 130500 ha with more than 187500 farmers.
Details of Organic Projects undertaken by SBL
