Organic farming, certification & market linkages - PKVY scheme
In the year 2016, JVES applied for selection as Regional Council to The National Centre for Organic Farming, currently, the National Centre of Organic & Natural Farming (NCONF) under DAC&FW, GoI and on approval, was the first organisation to represent RC from East and North East India. With this the then Addl Chief Secretary, Dr. Sanjeev Chopra and Hon’ble Agriculture Minister Shri. Purnendu Bose awarded the first organic farming and certification project under WB State Govt. to JVES as RC for 120 clusters under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna (PKVY).
JVES soon got awarded the scope for 550 clusters in 15 districts of Uttar Pradesh for implementing the PKVY scheme in the year 2017. The scheme got to develop organic farming clusters under PGS India certifications with each farmer not bringing more than 1 acre of land holding and comprising each cluster with a minimum of 50 farmers. We were to provide an end-to-end support system for 3 years to these farmers as per the scheme guidelines.
As this was the initial phase of the PGS India certification scope, multiple challenges and changes occurred during this period which affected the overall implementation of the scheme. Though the project did not meet the desired objective but was one of the most important projects that created a strong awareness amongst the farmers of soil fertility and the degradation it is causing due to the use of chemical fertilizers, weedicides and other chemicals but also made the mass consumers aware on organic food, including dangers of having chemicals laden foods that we are having at our home. This created a mass movement and demand for reduction of chemicals in our environment and most importantly adaptation of sustainable farming and regenerative farming amongst the small and marginal farmers.
Currently, JVES is implementing India’s one of the largest projects under UPSRLM under PGS India Organic certification scope in the State of Uttar Pradesh.
