Federation Establishes A Network Of 2,000 Organic Farmers Through 120 NGOs; Farmers Too Find It A Low-Cost Method
Jayashree Bhosale PUNE
ORGANIC farming is now a movement in Maharashtra, thanks to the few motivated individuals who acted as its advocates. Shriniwas Kulkarni was attracted to the idea of chemical free food, quit his career in an MNC to start a retail outlet, Organic and Naturals, in Pune. That was six years ago.
“When I first heard of organic food, I visited a few people working in this area, including Vandana Shiva, the activist. Their work inspired me to take the plunge,” said Mr Kulkarni. His retail outlet selling organic food has recently achieved financial break even. “I was able to carry on the business for five years due to my long service in MNCs.
“Now I have more than 1000 customers who regularly buy organic grocery,” he said, adding, “It is still a very niche market. Only the health conscious and NRIs come to us.”
Social activist Vasudha Sardar was mulling the idea of making organic food available to all and was forced to take action when doctors advised her not to give any raw food to her husband, then at an advanced stage of blood cancer. “This was a turning point for me when I realised that food which is supposed to nourish has become a killer,” she said.
Ms Sardar convinced a group of 15 farmers to start organic farming in Pargaon village, about 60 kms from Pune, where she owned some agricultural land. “A young farmer who ran a shop selling pesticides and fertilisers also supported us since he knew the dangers of the chemicals used in agriculture even better than we did. We started supplying vegetables and other food grains from June 2008 and today we have a dedicated customer base of 300 families in Pune,” she said.
The Maharasthra Organic Farming Federation (MOFF) is an NGO established by former IPS officer Vikram Bokey. It has established a network of 2,000 organic farmers through 120 NGOs affiliated to it. “Organic farming is a low cost no debt option for these farmers,” said MOFF vice president Diliprao Deshmukh.
These organic growers tend to supply directly to consumers or retailers thus cutting out the middlemen and avoiding the excessive handling of perishable commodities. It also helps in increasing the profitability of the venture.
Growers like Ms Sardar try to sell the organic food at the ruling market rate of normal food items although organic food is costlier than the normal by 30% to 40%. Though the market potential of this business is huge, it is faced with the situation where the buyer does not know where to buy and the grower does not know how to sell.
“Availability of sourcing reliable produce, that too consistently is the biggest problem,” said Mr Kulkarni. Pargaon, where Ms Sardar’s farming activity is located, is an irrigated sugarcane area where it is hard to convince farmers to turn to organic farming. In drought prone Vidarbha, it was relatively easier for Prasad Dev to motivate a number of farmers to go organic. He markets their organic produce on a commission basis. Yet Mr Dev complained, “Farmers are not inclined to produce quality organic food.”
Certification is the answer to ensure quality and establish trust. But it is expensive. Interestingly, farmers are growing top quality organic food for export purposes. According to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda), the country’s apex body for the sector, India’s export of organic food grew by 30% in 2007-08 while the country has 1 million hectare of land under certified organic cultivation.
jayashree.bhosale@timesgroup.com
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