 "Crop Care Federation claims data fudging in organic farming")
On the eve of organic farming exhibition being held in Kochi (Kerala) from November 6-8, 2014, Crop Care Federation of India (CCFI) has alleged data fraud in the official statistics of the government. Promotion of organic farming in India is founded on fabricated data, claims CCFI’s data-based analysis report - titled ‘True facts about organic agriculture’ - which was unveiled in Mumbai yesterday. Report reveals how organic farming in India has failed to grow despite big plans and thousands of crores allegedly spent by various government departments.
“This investigative report by Crop Care Federation of India which bares fabricated facts on organic farming in India has been made public just days after the association wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking investigation in this high-profile data fraud,” said a CCFI press release.
According to the complaint letter sent by CCFI to the Prime Minister, National Project on Organic Farming (NPOF), a central government body founded in October 2004 to oversee the growth and implementation of organic farming in India, has simply fabricated data on organic farming to artificially boost organic farming in government records. For example, the data shows that there is one lakh hectares under organic farming in urban Delhi (almost 70% of the total land).
“We believe there are vested interests trying to promote organic farming in India by publishing completely fabricated data. We strongly suspect the data were spiked in order to artificially boost organic farming in the country. We are afraid that there could be fraudulent utilisation of government funds as well. Forging data for the purpose of cheating is an offence under section 468 of Indian Penal Code” said Rajju Shroff, Chairman of CCFI.
“These findings should also make the current government rethink on the strategy adopted by previous regime to promote organic farming in India until a proper investigation is done on the subject,” added Shroff.
According to this report prepared by Crop Care Federation of India, growth in organic area has considerably slowed down across the globe and that less than one per cent of the agricultural land is currently under organic agriculture. The area under organic cultivation ranges from 0.16% to 0.64% in the top 5 countries with the biggest agriculture production (China, India, USA, Indonesia and Brazil).
The statistics on organic farming in India have been startling. According to the report, 90 per cent of land ‘under organic cultivation’ in India is actually forestland, a fact hidden from the public eyes. India’s organic production has in fact declined from 3.88 million tonnes in 2010-11 to 1.24 million tonnes in 2013-14. Latest data shows India has only 0.5 million ha out of 140 million ha of cultivated area is under organic farming - less than 1% of the total area under cultivation.
S Ganesan, Advisor (Public & Policy Affairs) of CCFI and the author of the report, said, “Only 2 per cent of organically produced commodities get exported from India, while rest is consumed domestically. Animal feeds (soybeans and soya oil meal) are the largest organic commodity exported from India mostly to countries that promote organic livestock such as beef and pork.”
“This investigative report by Crop Care Federation of India which bares fabricated facts on organic farming in India has been made public just days after the association wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking investigation in this high-profile data fraud,” said a CCFI press release.
According to the complaint letter sent by CCFI to the Prime Minister, National Project on Organic Farming (NPOF), a central government body founded in October 2004 to oversee the growth and implementation of organic farming in India, has simply fabricated data on organic farming to artificially boost organic farming in government records. For example, the data shows that there is one lakh hectares under organic farming in urban Delhi (almost 70% of the total land).
“We believe there are vested interests trying to promote organic farming in India by publishing completely fabricated data. We strongly suspect the data were spiked in order to artificially boost organic farming in the country. We are afraid that there could be fraudulent utilisation of government funds as well. Forging data for the purpose of cheating is an offence under section 468 of Indian Penal Code” said Rajju Shroff, Chairman of CCFI.
“These findings should also make the current government rethink on the strategy adopted by previous regime to promote organic farming in India until a proper investigation is done on the subject,” added Shroff.
According to this report prepared by Crop Care Federation of India, growth in organic area has considerably slowed down across the globe and that less than one per cent of the agricultural land is currently under organic agriculture. The area under organic cultivation ranges from 0.16% to 0.64% in the top 5 countries with the biggest agriculture production (China, India, USA, Indonesia and Brazil).
The statistics on organic farming in India have been startling. According to the report, 90 per cent of land ‘under organic cultivation’ in India is actually forestland, a fact hidden from the public eyes. India’s organic production has in fact declined from 3.88 million tonnes in 2010-11 to 1.24 million tonnes in 2013-14. Latest data shows India has only 0.5 million ha out of 140 million ha of cultivated area is under organic farming - less than 1% of the total area under cultivation.
S Ganesan, Advisor (Public & Policy Affairs) of CCFI and the author of the report, said, “Only 2 per cent of organically produced commodities get exported from India, while rest is consumed domestically. Animal feeds (soybeans and soya oil meal) are the largest organic commodity exported from India mostly to countries that promote organic livestock such as beef and pork.”
Highlights of the report
- About 90% of land 'under organic cultivation' in India is actually forest land
- India’s organic production has declined from 3.88 million tonnes in 2010-11 to 1.24 million tonnes in 2013-14
- Almost 70% of India’s organic exports is used as animal feed in western markets (contrary to the government’s claim that India is consuming most of its organic produce; therefore the massive investment in the sector)
- Latest data shows India has only 0.5 million ha under organic farming. Just 10% what was planned with huge budget. This despite the fact that more than Rs 2500 crores was allotted under the XI Planning Commission plan (2007-12) to convert 5 million farm lands into organic