Small and marginal farmers, who can’t afford costly agricultural inputs, are turning a new leaf by going organic because of lower costs and higher margins, data from the first impact study of the Modi government’s Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) shows.
Among key findings, the study shows the programme launched in 2015 has seen 6,211 organic clusters come up in 25 states, comprising 2.25 lakh farmers. About 52.3% of them are small. The main motivating factor was lower costs. The south zone had highest share of small farmers at 89.1%. In all zones except central, small farmers accounted for than more than half the registered members. The study analysed 690 clusters in 25 states.
Although Sikkim is India’s first fully organic state, Maharashtra led in the number of clusters at 1,043, while MP, with 992 clusters, had the highest area under organic cultivation.
Read more of this in a report by Zia Haq published in Times of India...
