‘Organic farming’ in simple words means natural farming or the way of farming that we learned from nature and is undiluted by mankind in terms of soil, fertilizer, seed, water, etc. Whatever nature has provided us for our livelihood is free from any chemical adulteration. Farmers should also strive to use natural products and processes in farming such as mixing dung of animals in soil for sowing traditional seeds, using organic pesticides to control diseases and pests, following traditional organic techniques of seed storage, etc. Organic farming is beneficial to nature and human health. Moreover consuming organic products does not have adverse effects on nature and human health.
As the major part of Uttarakhand is hilly terrain and totally dependent on rains, farming in the area is purely organic. The major livelihood occupations of the people are farming and animal husbandry so alongside, there is an availability of milk, ghee, and curds. Farmers also have access to an enormous amount of fertilizer from animal dung.
But although farmers practice traditional organic farming, they lack awareness about the value of their organic produce. Through meetings, workshops, training programs, and awareness campaigns, INHERE provides information regarding the benefits and importance of organic farming to ensure that more and more farmers understand the value of their organic produce.
Training programs on techniques to improve organic farming are organized at the village and center levels. The trainings include methods of preparing organic compost like vermicompost, CPP (Cow Pat Pit), NADEP, etc; and types of organic pesticides and ways of preparing them. The objective is to stall the spread of plant diseases and increase the quantity and improve the quality of the yield.
The area being a hilly terrain, transportation is a challenge so frequent trips to the city market are not possible. Earlier, the lack of local markets made the farmers dependent on middlemen leading to the selling of crops at erratic and low rates. Even though the farmers practiced organic farming, they failed to get the actual price of their natural produce.
INHERE intervened and the agricultural produce of 1891 farmers of 68 villages was provided organic certification by USOCA (Uttarakhand State Organic Certification Agency) Dehradun. As a result, farmers now get a good price for their produce. The medicinal and herbal products of farmers are provided with a market-leading to a substantial increase in their income. Aside from these, value addition and capacity building trainings are also provided to farmers. Moreover, farmers are given opportunities to participate in agricultural fairs, conferences, haats, exhibitions, etc. to expand their knowledge about organic products available at the national and international levels. The purpose is to create a unique identity of the products of farmers of Uttarakhand and provide a competitive market for their organic products.
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