Parliament Question: Youth Participation in Organic Farming

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 235 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04TH AUGUST, 2026 YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN ORGANIC FARMING *235. SHRI VE VAITHILINGAM:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ िष एवं िकसान क(cid:670)ाण मं(cid:361)ी

be pleased to state:

(a) the assessment made by the Government regarding the emergence of organic farming as a sustainable career and entrepreneurship opportunity for youth, driven by increasing consumer demand for chemical-free food, environmental awareness and technological advancements in agriculture;

(b) the details of policy measures, programmes, and institutional frameworks established to encourage youth participation in organic farming including financial incentives, certification support, extension services, and capacity-building initiatives;

(c) the measures undertaken by the Government to integrate agritech solutions, including digital marketplaces and technology-enabled farm management practices with organic farming systems, to improve productivity and profitability;

(d) the initiatives introduced to strengthen rural vocational education, facilitate access to farm credit and expand technology support for young farmers engaged in sustainable agriculture; and

(e) the steps proposed by the Government to develop value chains, promote branding and market linkages and expand domestic and export opportunities for organic produce? ANSWER MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ िष एवं िकसान क(cid:670)ाण मं(cid:361)ी (SHRI SHIVRAJ SINGH CHOUHAN)

(a) to (e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.STATEMENT IN RESPECT OF PARTS (a) TO (e) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 235 DUE FOR ANSWER ON 04TH AUGUST, 2026 REGARDING “YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN ORGANIC FARMING”.

(a) to ( e): The Government is implementing two schemes to promote organic farming since 2015-16 namely Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), which is implemented in all States and Union Territories (UTs) and Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER), which is implemented in the North Eastern States. Both schemes stress on end-to-end support to farmers engaged in organic farming including young farmers i.e. from production to processing, certification and marketing. Primary focus of the schemes is to form organic clusters, with preference to small and marginal farmers, to create a supply chain.

Under PKVY, assistance of Rs. 31,500 per ha is provided over 3 years for promotion of organic farming. Out of this, assistance of Rs. 15,000 per ha is provided to farmers including young farmers through Direct Benefit Transfer for on- farm /off –farm organic inputs including organic compost. Financial assistance of Rs. 4,500/ha is provided over 3 years for marketing, packaging, branding, value addition etc. Rs. 3,000/ha for 3 years is provided for certification. Assistance is also provided @Rs. 9,000/ha in 3 years for training, awareness & capacity building.

Under MOVCDNER, assistance of Rs. 46,500 per ha is provided over 3 years for creation of Farmers Producer Organization, support to farmers including young farmers for organic inputs etc. Out of this, assistance @ Rs. 32,500 per ha is provided to farmers for off -farm /on –farm organic inputs under the scheme including Rs. 15,000 as Direct Benefit Transfer to the farmers. Financial assistance of Rs 10,000 per ha is provided over 3 years for activities of Internal Control System (ICS) management, training and certification. Financial assistance of Rs 4,000 per ha is provided over 3 years for value chain marketing at state level.

Government has initiated Organic Certification to help small farmers reap these benefits, making farming systems more sustainable, prosperous, and profitable. Participatory Guarantee System (PGS-India) organic certification being implemented by Ministry of Agriculture and farmers’ Welfare. So far 16.35 lakh ha area has been certified benefitting

24.14 lakh farmers under PGS-India Certification Programme. Till now more than 500 brands have been developed for organic farming under PGS-India, which have received good and stable prices in the market. The prominent brands developed under PGS-IndiaOrganic Certification programme include Pure & Sure (Bengaluru), Swadesham Organics (Uttar Pradesh), Organic Himachal, Organic Jharkhand, Kerala Organic, Sahaja Aharam (Hyderabad), Tamil Nadu Organic Products, Aadim Organic

(Dantewada), Organic Uttarakhand, Namami Gange Jaivik Kashi etc.

Under MOVCDNER, all 8 North East states developed their own organic product brands namely Organic Arunachal (Arunachal Pradesh), Organic Manipur (Manipur), Mission Organic Mizoram (Mizoram), Naga Organic (Nagaland), Sikkim Organic (Sikkim), Megha

(Meghalaya) and Tripura Organic (Tripura), Asoma (Assam) which are used on its organic products for marketing.

National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) which is a third-party Certification for organic products is managed by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) for export and large-scale domestic production. Till 2025-26, 39.68 lakhs ha land certified under NPOP Organic Certification. The prominent brands developed under National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) certification includes, Mantra Organic, Organic India, Natureland Organics, Morarka, etc. Organic products are now available in online market platform such as Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). During 2025–26, APEDA has exported 3,03,249.40 MT of organic products. The major export destination countries includes United States of America (USA), European Union (EU), Canada, Great Britain, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Vietnam, Switzerland, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Japan, China etc. Organic Farming has emerged as a sustainable career and entrepreneurship opportunities for youth and farmers in production, value addition, processing, packaging, branding and marketing activities.

Further, the Government is promoting natural/organic farming through market-oriented measure. Out of 10,000 FPOs created under Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) Scheme, 185 FPOs have been identified for promotion of organic/natural produce.

Further, under MOVCDNER scheme for North East States, 479 FPOs have been created who are working for promotion of organic produce.

National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL) under the Ministry of Cooperation, is engaged in promoting certified organic farming through procurement, processing, branding and marketing of certified organic produce under the "Bharat Organics" brand.NCOL has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with State Nodal Agencies in 28 States/UTs and enrolled 14,550 cooperative societies as its members. NCOL has launched more than 28 certified organic products, including wheat flour, rice, pulses, jaggery, brown sugar, khandsari sugar, dry fruits, honey, ghee and apple cider vinegar.

These products are marketed through a network of retail and e-commerce platforms, including Safal (Mother Dairy), National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Limited (NCCF), National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited

(NAFED) outlets, Amazon, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, Reliance Retail, BigBasket and other channels. NCOL has achieved sales of approximately ₹40 crore through marketing of certified organic produce.

Agriculture Skill Council of India, M/o Skill Development and Entrepreneurship runs Vocational courses on organic farming supported under Central Government Scheme (Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana

(RKVY)). From 2021-2022 to 2026-2027, 1085 students have been trained for Organic Cultivator (small unit) course, 217 for organic farm and business promoter course, 21792 for Organic Grower Course and 1,711 for Small Organic Cultivator course.

Digital Agriculture Mission envisages the creation of a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for Agriculture, such as AgriStack, Krishi Decision Support System, a Comprehensive Soil Fertility & Profile Map and promoting IT initiatives undertaken by the Central Government/State Government to enable a robust digital agriculture ecosystem in the country as a comprehensive source of information on farmers, crops, livestock and fisheries and farmer centric digital solutions. AgriStack is the farmer-centric DPI built as a public good for efficient, easier and faster service and scheme delivery to the farmers.

It provides a comprehensive profile of every farmer, irrespective of their primary occupation, such as farmer’s details, land records, crops grown, and assets such as livestock and fisheries. It consists of three foundational registries associated with the agriculture sector, i.e., Farmer Registry, Geo-Referenced Village Maps and Crop Sown Registry, all created and maintained by the State Governments/ Union Territories.

Agriculture is a State subject. The Government supplements the efforts of the State Governments through policy support, budgetary assistance and various schemes/programmes for promoting agriculture and allied sectors, including the expansion of agriculture-based industries in rural areas. To support agriculture basedindustry, Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) facilitates medium and long-term financing through eligible lending institutions for the creation of post-harvest infrastructure at the farm-gate and viable farming assets such as warehouses, cold storages, processing units, godowns and logistics facilities. The scheme provides loans at an interest rate capped at 9% for up to 7 years, with 3% interest subvention and credit guarantee coverage up to ₹2 crore. Under AIF, Organic Input Production such as vermicompost units are also supported. Till date 681 Organic Input Production projects have been approved and loan sanctioned amount of Rs. 1183.83 cr.

The Government is implementing “Innovation and Agri-Entrepreneurship Development” programme under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) with an objective to promote innovation and agri-entrepreneurship by providing financial support and nurturing an incubation ecosystem in the country. Start-ups are taking projects in various field of agriculture and allied sectors including Organic Farming.

The government is implementing a 100% centrally funded Central Sector Scheme known as the Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS) across various States and UTs in pan India. This scheme aims to provide easy and affordable credit to all farmers for meeting their working capital needs of various agriculture and allied sector activities upto a loan limit of Rs. 3.00 lakh at an effective interest rate of 4%. The Government have been taking multiple initiative to make this accessible to farmers through regular Information Education Communication (IEC) campaigns organized by banks, State Government/ Central Government, Reserved Bank of India (RBI), National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), etc, besides, technology intervention like e- Kissan Credit Card (e-KCC), JanSamarth, and the Kisan Rural Investment and Credit Assistance (KRISHIKA) App to promote credit facility for farmers.

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