Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY): Nurturing Organic Farming in India

General Studies Paper-3

Context

• The Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), launched in 2015 under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture, has emerged as a flagship initiative to promote organic farming in India.

What is Organic farming?

• Organic farming is a sustainable agriculture system that excludes synthetic inputs like chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
• It relies on natural resources like crop residues, farmyard manure, and compost to maintain soil health and manage pests and diseases.

Organic farming in India

• India ranks at 4th place in terms of certified area globally as per the report published by International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) Statistics 2022.
• Madhya Pradesh has the largest area under organic certification followed by Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Karnataka.
• Sikkim is India’s first fully organic state, with implementing organic practices on around 75,000 hectares of agricultural land.
• India ranks first globally in terms of number of farmers practicing organic farming.
• The exports of India’s organic products stood at $708 million in 2022-23 and considering the global market size of around $138 billion, there is a tremendous scope to increase the organic exports in the near future.

Advantages of Organic farming

• Healthier Food Products: Organic farming results in food products that are free from harmful chemical residues with higher levels of essential nutrients.
• Enhanced Soil Health: Organic farming methods focus on building and maintaining soil health by increasing organic matter content, microbial activity, and nutrient cycling.
• Economic Opportunities: Organic farming provides economic benefits to farmers through premium prices for organic products, access to niche markets, and reduced input costs over the long term.
• Climate Change Mitigation: Organic farming practices such as composting and organic soil management contribute to carbon sequestration in the soil, helping to mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• Biodiversity Conservation: Organic farming practices support biodiversity by creating habitats for beneficial insects, birds, and other wildlife.

Organic certifications systems in India

• National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP): It is under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for development of the export market.
• It is a third party certification programme where the production and handling of activities at all stages such as production, processing, trading and export requirements for organic products is covered.
• Participatory Guarantee System for India (PGS-India): Operated under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, this is a farmer-centric, community-based certification.
  • Farmers and producers collectively participate in decision-making, peer inspections, and mutual verification of practices, ultimately declaring the produce as organic.
  • Food Safety Regulation has made it mandatory for organic products to be certified under NPOP or PGS for being sold in the domestic market under the Jaivik Bharat logo.

Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)

• The schemes stress on end-to-end support to farmers engaged in organic farming i.e. from production to processing, certification and marketing and post-harvest management.
• The objective of the PKVY is to advance a scalable model of eco-agriculture that integrates low-cost, chemical-free techniques with farmer-led collectives, enhancing food safety, income generation, and environmental sustainability.
• Cluster Model: Farmers are mobilised in groups of 20 hectares to collectively adopt organic practices, ensuring uniform standards and cost-effectiveness.
• Under the scheme farmers adopting organic farming practices are being assisted with ₹31,500 per hectare for a three-year period.

Other Initiatives for Organic Farming

• Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER): The scheme is being implemented exclusively in the NE States to support farmers engaged in organic farming.
• Jaivik Kheti portal is a one stop solution for facilitating organic farmers to sell their organic produce and promoting organic farming and its benefits. This portal caters various stakeholders like local groups, individual farmers, buyers and input suppliers.
• In 2020–21, the Government launched the Large Area Certification (LAC) programme to fast-track certification in regions where chemical farming has never been practiced (tribal belts, islands, eco-preserved zones).
• The LAC reduces the conversion period from 2–3 years to a few months.

Way Ahead

• Scale up PKVY from small clusters to large, connected organic belts that create rural hubs of sustainable farming.
• Invest in region-specific research, farmer training, and grassroots innovations to make organic practices more practical and profitable.
• Encourage rural youth to turn into “green entrepreneurs” through organic processing, eco-tourism, and start-ups linked to organic value chains.