SHILLONG, Dec 5 - In view of the rising demand for organic products across the globe, Meghalaya has decided to promote organic farming among the farmers .
Addressing farmers and stakeholders on the occasion of World Soil Day, Commissioner and Secretary, Agriculture Department, PS Kumar said that the State Government has been putting a concerted effort to encourage organic farming.
Stating that Meghalaya has been identified as a �competitive State� in the agro sector by a study conducted by Harvard, Kumar said that Meghalaya is trying to catch up with Sikkim which currently has 70,000 hectares of land under organic farming and is the largest producers of organic produce in the country.
The State would soon open its first organic farm produce market in the capital very soon. One of the villages in the State capital has turned fully organic and the produce from the village would be sold in the market after being certified by the Government.
Underlining some of the interventions to reach the goal of a total organic farming in the state, Kumar said that the state has developed organic compost with the help of experts from outside, which would reduce the burden on the farmers to buy expensive organic fertilizers for their crops.
He said that the compost is made out of manure and other agricultural produce and requires a period of just 18 days to be ready for the use in the fields. Farmers are being trained to produce the compost throughout the state and this, he said, would eventually help farmers to produce organic crops economically.
The state is also in the process of setting up an agri-response call centre for the farmers. The call centre would help the farmers put forward their complaints and grievances and other farm-related matters.
Moreover, efforts are also being taken to take care of the marketing aspect and doing away with middle men. Meanwhile, the farmers were presented soil health cards by the officials during the occasion.
