Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
7. Ensure seed, food, and sovereignty
8. Promote biodiversity-based ecological farming
9. Ensure quality control in organic inputs and agricultural produce
10. Enable human health promotion by providing safe agricultural products
and commodities
11. Conservation and extension of traditional knowledge related to
agriculture
FAO put the objectives succinctly: “Organic agriculture improves food access
by increasing productivity, diversity and conservation of natural resources, by
raising incomes and by reducing risks for farmers. Improvement also results
from sharing of knowledge among farmers. These benefits lead to poverty re-
duction and a reversal of rural outward migration. Policy requirements to im-
prove food access include: increasing farmers' rights to seeds, local varieties, and
biodiversity; expanding fair-trade systems along the full value chain; evaluat-
ing current emergency aid and procurement programs; and strengthening the
rights of indigenous farmers.”
Strategies and Action Plans
General approach
: The mission to convert Kerala into an organic State is to be
achieved focusing on potential crops and areas in a phased and compact man-
ner, with the aim of converting a minimum of 10 percent of the cultivable land
into entirely organic every year and thus achieving the target within five to ten
years. On completion of the third year of implementation of the organic farm-
ing policy, a Commitee of experts comprising representatives of farmers and
scientists should make a comprehensive assessment of the farmer's well-being,
economy, and environment, and only after rectifying the drawbacks, if any, can
the policy be implemented in rest of the areas.
Definition of organic farmer:
A farmer may be defined as an “Organic Farmer”
provided he/she adheres to and practices the following three essentialities of
organic farming.
1. A farmer who practices mixed farming including food crops.
2. A farmer who ensures the conservation of soil and water.
3. A farmer who conserves the biodiversity of the farmland.
