'Bharat Organics' will have 20 organic products by December: Amit Shah

Cooperation Minister Amit Shah today said the 'Bharat Organics' brand of the newly launched National Cooperative Organics Ltd (NCOL) will have as many as 20 products in the market by December 2023 and over the years emerge as the most trusted brand for 'organic' products from India.

Shah said the cooperative, which is part of three new cooperatives set up by the government in various sectors with an initial capital of Rs 500 crore, already has 950 members under its fold and will target 25,000 members by next year.

Today, six products from NCOL were launched under the 'Bharat Organics' brand.

 

Shah was addressing a national symposium on the promotion of organic products through cooperatives here.

He said as a noble initiative, NCOL will pass on 50 per cent of its profit earned over the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of any crop directly into the bank account of the farmers, while the rest will be used for the growth of the organization.

Shah said that to establish itself as the most trusted organic brand, the government will expand the number of labs approved by the National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) across the country from the existing 34.

Gujarat-headquartered NCOL, with the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) being the chief promoter, was registered under the Multi State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002, on January 25 this year.

"NCOL is a platform for organic growers. Today, we are launching six products under the 'Bharat Organics' brand and 20 products by December," Shah said.

The six organic products launched today were tur dal, chana dal, sugar, rajma, basmati rice, and Sonamasoori rice.

These will initially be sold through Mother Dairy's 150 Safal outlets and online platforms, Shah said, adding that a network of retail outlets is being created across the country.

Initially, NCOL will sell the organic products in India and later it will market them in other countries, he added.

Stressing the need to expand the NPPO-approved labs to certify organic produce, the minister said only 34 labs out of 246 in the country are approved by NPPO.

The government will set up an additional 305 labs -- 100 mobile labs and 205 stationed labs -- in the coming years with the support of food safety regulatory FSSAI and other organizations, he said.

Shah also said: "In the next 10 years, we will be able to see 'Bharat Organics' established as a strong brand in the world market. The cooperative body is framing a long-term strategy in this regard." NCOL has started a database of natural farming, he said, and added that more than 25,000 cooperatives will become members of NCOL by next year.

Sharing the purpose behind setting up NCOL, the minister said the new cooperative body for promoting organic produce was created amid declining land fertility due to the excess use of fertilizers and pesticides. Even people's health is also getting affected due to the consumption of foods produced with high doses of fertilizers and pesticides.

In the journey of becoming self-reliant in food grain production by using excess fertilizers and pesticides, some mistakes were committed that are visible now and affecting people's health, he said.

Now that the country is surplus in food production, it is time to reflect on the journey and rectify the mistakes. One solution Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for was natural farming, he added.

Organic agriculture is practised in 190 countries on 749,000 hectares of land, and India ranks 4th globally in organic agricultural land and first in the number of producers as per 2020 data.

India has 2.7 million hectares of land under certified organic certification, including cultivable and wild harvest areas. The country produced 2.9 million tonnes of certified organic products in 2022-23, as per the official data.

The export of organic produce reached 3,12,000 tonnes in 2022-23, valued at Rs 5,525 crore, mainly to the US, EU, Canada, and other countries.

Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and the northeastern region are some states which are leading in certified organic land.