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Large Area Certification’ scheme Department of Agriculture, | UPSC PIB NEWS

Large Area Certification’ scheme

Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare (DAC&FW) is working to identify Traditional Organic Areas to transform them into certified organic production hubs.

What’s in the news?

◆ The Government of India has certified 14,491 ha of such area under Car Nicobar and Nancowry group of islands in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

◆ This area becomes the first large contiguous territory to be conferred with organic certification under the ‘Large Area Certification’ (LAC) scheme of the PGS-India (Participatory Guarantee System) certification programme.

◆ Under LAC, each village in the area is considered as one cluster/group.

◆ All farmers with their farmland and livestock need to adhere to the standard requirements and on being verified get certified en mass without the need to go under conversion period.

Certification is renewed on annual basis through verification by a process of peer appraisals as per the process of PGS-India.

The LAC is a quick certification programme under the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana.

Benefits of LAC:

As per the established norm of organic production systems, the areas having chemical input usage history are required to undergo a transition period of minimum 2-3 years to qualify as organic.

◆ During this period, farmers need to adopt standard organic agriculture practices and keep their farms under the certification process.

◆ On successful completion, such farms can be certified as organic after 2-3 years. The certification process also requires elaborate documentation and time to time verification by the certification authorities.

◆ Whereas under LAC requirements are simple and the area can be certified almost immediately.

LAC is a quick certification process that is cost-effective and farmers do not have to wait for 2-3 years for marketing PGS organic certified products.

Background:

Organic farming has been identified as a viable option promising safe and chemical residue-free food and long-term sustainability of food production systems.

◆ Realising the importance of environmental and human benefits of chemical-free farming, the Government of India through the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has been promoting organic/natural farming through various schemes of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana, Organic Mission in North East, etc. since 2014.

◆ The government is taking steps through the LAC to proactively transform traditional organic areas into certified organic.

◆ According to the ministry, there are traditional areas in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, north-eastern states and tribal belts of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh and desert districts of Rajasthan which can be transformed to ‘certified organic’.

#GS3


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