Growth in organic farming sector is mired by fraudulence and malpractices, says ICRIER report

NEW DELHI: A report of economic policy think tank, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), on Tuesday noted that the growth in organic farming sector in the country is mired by fraudulence and malpractices such as selling inorganic products as organic in domestic market.
The report, released by chief executive officer of the NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant, made this and many other conclusions based on a survey of farmers, companies and other stakeholders in 12 states and Delhi and pitched for a need to establish a uniform standard.
Underlining the need to make the organic certification process mandatory for domestic market the way it is done for export, the ICRIER’s report on ‘Organic Farming in India: Status, Issues and Way Forward’ also demanded laying out clear labelling requirements and logo for organic products. Besides, it recommended strict punishment for fraudulent practices by unscrupulous traders.
At present, India has export regulations for organic products. But, there are no regulations governing organic food product standards and labels for the domestic market and imports.
All organic exports from India have to meet requirements under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP), developed in the year 2000 by the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) of the commerce ministry.
Though the agriculture ministry has introduced a Participatory Guarantee System for India (PGS-India) for adhering to quality standards for organic products, the compliance of the standards is not mandatory. It’s, in fact, a self-certification process, established to encourage small and mid-sized farmers to take up organic farming and to promote organic products in domestic market on a large scale.
Respondents of the survey were, therefore, not impressed with the existing system and majority of them demanded mandatory organic certification system in India. The ICRIER’s report noted that all companies (which participated in the survey) pointed out prevalence of fraudulent practices and malpractices in organic business.
“These malpractices can be of different types, the most serious of which is mixing organic products with conventional products”, it said while referring to the outcome of the survey. The survey covers food items like oilseeds, rice, tea, spices, fruits and vegetables, medicinal plants and herbs.
The Niti Aayog CEO too noted the challenges related to multiple organic standards and certification highlighted in the report while speaking on the occasion and suggested that quality standards set by the Apeda should be followed for organic products to push deeper into global as well as domestic markets.
The report also underscored the urgent need for creation of a single nodal agency for organic sector and said that majority of the companies surveyed concurred to a recommendation to appoint the agriculture ministry as a nodal agency for developing standards and regulating organic practices in the country.
It noted that the organic food market is growing currently at a rate of 14% and is expected to rise to 20% in the next five years if supported with right policies providing the necessary impetus.