India Organic 2005 generated Rs 42 crore of business

State will conduct event every November

India Organic 2005, held in Bangalore in November last, could become an annual event. The four-day-long organic farming trade fair had seen a good response from farmers, traders and the general public. Encouraged by the response, the state government plans to make it an annual event.

The trade fair, which generated business worth Rs 42 crore had attracted over 30,000 visitors during the four days of the fair, beginning November 4, 2005.

"In our first attempt itself we succeeded in our objective of bringing together on a common platform a host of organic food producers and buyers. The event has created awareness among consumers on the importance of organic food. A linkage has been established between buyers and sellers," S C V Reddy, additional director, agriculture department, told Business Standard.

The event, organised jointly by the state agriculture department, International Competence Centre for Organic Agriculture (ICCOA), a Bangalore-based NGO, and the Agricultural Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) under the Union ministry of agriculture, had over 1,000 trade visitors from India and abroad, said Reddy.

Delegates from 21 states and 16 countries participated in the event. The participating countries included the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, the US, Chile, Hungary, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan.

The event was supported by the government of Switzerland through their Indian Organic Market Development Project (IOMDP). A seminar on organic farming attracted some 450 delegates.

India Organic 2005 was able to motivate over 650 farmers from across the country to register themselves for securing certification for their organic produce. There are several internationally-recognised organic produce certification agencies which can be approached. These farmers will secure official help to market their produce globally, where there is a huge demand for organic food.

"Based on the lessons learnt at the first such event, we will make improvements in the next edition being held in November 2006," Reddy said.

The state government used the event to publicise its policy on organic farming. The governments of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala will consult Karnataka's organic policy when they formulate theirs, he added.

The next India Organic will be held at Palace Grounds which is more accessible than Lal Bagh. The department has built up a corpus to organise the show with the help of one-time government grant. A professional event management company will be involved in organising the show from this year, he said.