SHILLONG, July 12 � Eyeing a fair chunk from the Rs 100 crore earmarked for organic farming in the Union Budget for the North East, Meghalaya has said that its programmes on organic farming is unlike any other government schemes being run in the NE.
Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said that Meghalaya has been encouraging organic farming for many years and its �mission mode programme on organic farming is different and exclusive� from any other programme being run by different States in the NE.
He said the State Government has already allocated Rs 14 crore to encourage organic farming in the State and added that the objective of the State Government is to convert all forms of farming in the State into organic and then brand the State as an organic farming State.
One of the front runners in organic farming in the NE is Sikkim. The Himalayan State has aggressively encouraged its famers to use organic manures in cultivation and aims to turn the entire farming method into organic by 2015. It is likely that Sikkim would be one of the biggest beneficiaries from the Union Budget allocation on organic farming.
There is a growing demand for food produced through organic farming in the international market. India is trying to get its foothold into this global market and encouraging organic farming. Indian farmers too are keen to shift to organic farming.
Sangma said that in Garo Hills, farmers were being encouraged to raise cashew plantation using organic manures.
