• Launched in 2001.
• Implemented by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) under the Ministry of Commerce & Industries.
• Focuses on accreditation, organic production standards, and promoting organic farming.
• Enhances India’s global competitiveness in organic farming and supports eco-friendly and viable practices.

• Recognition for Organic Grower Groups: Simplified certification requirements for grower groups, granting them legal status and replacing the Internal Control System (ICS), a previous quality assurance system for group certification.
• NPOP Portal: Provides visibility and streamlines operations for organic stakeholders.
• Organic Promotion Portal: Connects farmers, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), and exporters with global buyers, offering trade leads, training, and events.
• TraceNet 2.0: Upgraded system ensuring farm-to-market transparency, traceability, and compliance with global standards.
• AgriXchange Portal: Facilitates data analysis and connects international buyers and sellers to strengthen India’s position in the global organic market.
• 6. Technological Advancements: Boosts organic farming operations through innovative systems and tools, enhancing India’s organic production ecosystem.

• Sets standards for organic production and accreditation, recognized by the European Commission and Switzerland, enabling acceptance of Indian organic products internationally.
• Facilitates India’s integration into the global organic market.

Do you know?

• India ranks 2nd globally in terms of organic agricultural land.
• Sikkim is the world’s first fully organic state, and North East India has a tradition of organic farming with minimal chemical use.
• India has the highest number of organic producers worldwide, with 2.3 million farmers.
• By 2023-24, approximately 4.5 million hectares (2.5% of total agricultural land) were under organic certification.
• Madhya Pradesh (26%), Maharashtra (22%), Gujarat (15%), and Rajasthan (13%) together contribute 76% of India’s total organic farming area.

PYQ:

[2021] How is permaculture farming different from conventional chemical farming?

1. Permaculture farming discourages mono-cultural practices but in conventional chemical farming, monoculture practices are predominant.
2. Conventional chemical farming can cause an increase in soil salinity but the occurrence of such phenomenon is not observed in permaculture farming.
3. Conventional chemical farming is easily possible in semi-arid regions but permaculture farming is not so easily possible in such regions.
4. Practice of mulching is very important in permaculture farming but not necessarily so in conventional chemical farming.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

(a) 1 and 3
(b) 1, 2 and 4
(c) 4 only
(d) 2 and 3