Jaivik Society to promote organic farming

The Jaivik Krishik Society (JKS), a federation of organic farmers and farmers' groups founded by the government of Karnataka to propagate organic farming, is all set to market organic products under the brand name of 'Jaivik' across the state.

The society has 120 members and 11 groups of farmers in the state engaged in the organic cultivation of food products. It is presently in the process of approaching national and international certification and accreditation agencies for marketing the organic food products in international markets, according to JKS president and joint director of horticulture (biocentre) K Ramakrishnappa.

"Till now, farmers were dependent on international agencies for certification of organically-grown food products. But, from now on the certification will be done by JKS to market the produce in the domestic markets. However, farmers will have to depend on international agencies to export their produce for some more time," he said.

He told Business Standard, JKS has developed an internal control system (ICS) to assist farmers in adopting organic agricultural practices and maintaining required standards through inspection and certification.

JKS has set up a retail outlet in the Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens in Bangalore to promote its brand of products. This 'Jaivik' outlet sells vegetables, fruits, spices and other farm produce.

For the first time, the society has taken up marketing of organic grapes through its outlet. It has identified a group of 60 farmers in Athani taluk of Belgaum district who have been growing organic grapes for the last three years. "These farmers were unaware that there is a big demand for organically-grown grapes. So, we have told them to send their produce to Bangalore and for the last five days we have been selling them through our outlet at Lal Bagh," Ramakrishnappa said.

The Jaivik Krishik Society has already covered 5,000 farmers in the state to convert their farms into organic ones and aims to add another 10,000-15,000 during the next one year. "We plan to make use of the funds allocated by the Central government under the National Horticulture Mission for expanding the area under organic cultivation," he said.

Initially, 2,500 farmers will be encouraged to convert about 10,000 hectares to organic farming, he said. Each farmer will be given Rs 4,000 per acre as incentive for a maximum of 10 acres. They will be trained by the society to adopt organic cultivation practices.

The society will facilitate local collection, grading and packing of their produce. It will also provide them with a logo "" Jaivik Karnataka "" to market their produce as 'organic'.