National Project on Organic Farming: Committee on Estimates (2015-16)
The Committee on Estimates (2015-16) present this 9th Report on ‘National Project on Organic Farming' pertaining to the Ministry of Agriculture (Department of Agriculture & Cooperation). With the significant shift towards minerals-based farming in late sixties, India ushered into the Green Revolution, which initially paid rich dividends in terms of higher productivity and pulled the country out of the fear psychosis of food insecurity for the burgeoning Indian population. However, in the long run, it brought in its wake a very negative cascading impact on our ecological plateau to wit, degradation of soil health, gradual low yields, emergence of new pests/diseases, wiping out of eco-friendly micro organisms and percolation of toxic chemicals into our food chain threatening the very existence of our biosphere. Taking note of the adverse consequences of chemical based farming, Government of India launched a National Project on Organic Farming (NPOF) with an outlay of Rs. 57.05 crores as a Pilot project with effect from 01.01.2004 (Xth Plan) and continued it during XI Plan with an outlay of Rs. 101 crores. Later on, in the middle of XII Plan, this scheme was made a sub-component of 'Soil Health Mission' which itself is a component of 'National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) with a paltry outlay of Rs. 293 crores for the remaining period of XII Plan.