Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 21, 2008
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Online edition of India's National Newspaper Monday, Jan 21, 2008 ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version |
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Tamil Nadu
Tuticorin: The Department of Agriculture is set to introduce ‘organic certification’ for various agriculture products in the district starting this financial year, to encourage large-scale quality organic farming. Speaking to The Hindu, S. Arumugam, Joint Director of Agriculture, said that the organic certification would enable the farmers to sell their produces in niche market segments at attractive prices, since such documents issued by accreditation bodies would tell the consumer that the products had been grown and handled as per the organic standards set internationally. “The importance of organic certification has been on the rise globally in the recent times, as the demand for safe, pure and healthy food is increasing considerably,” he added. Sources said that the country was ranked 33 in terms of total land under organic cultivation and 88 in terms of the ratio of agricultural land under organic crops to total farming area during last year, leaving scope for improvement in production of organic produces. In the district, a total of 1,250 acres is presently under organic farming. Norms Mr. Arumugam said that for a produce to be certified organic, the land used as medium of growth required a minimum three-year period of conversion from inorganic cultivation to organic farming methods. Besides, the plot should have a ‘buffer zone’ of three to 10 metres around the farm boundary to avoid drifting of chemicals from the neighbours’ fields. The farmers who plan to procure the certification should have used only ‘certified organic seeds.’ “As per norms, genetically modified seeds and use of chemical fertilizers are not allowed for organic certification,” Mr. Arumugam pointed out. For manuring, biodegradable materials of microbial, plant or animal origins produced at organic farms can be used. Mr. Arumugam said that all organic products should have a minimum of 95 per cent of the ingredients from certified organic origin in case multiple input constituents were used to obtain certification. LogoThe Joint Director said that specially designed ‘Tamil Nadu Organic’ logo would be used for organic certification programme. The registration fee for farmers or farmer units who wished to go for certification is Rs.5,000, while for corporate bodies, it will be Rs.25,000. For more details, interested farmers can contact the office of the Joint Director of Agriculture here. (Tel No: 0461-2340678)
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