Lip service about going organic aside, the Punjab government is very clear about one thing: trials in organic farming can be sacrificed if a prestigious project like Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) is to come to the state. No wonder that years of field trials in organic farming of wheat, paddy, barley and citrus fruits at Ropar are being brought to a naught so that this land can be allotted for setting up the IIT.

It is another matter that after being shifted, the Organic Farming Council of Punjab will have to restart field trials. That too after the new land allotted for the purpose has been rendered fit for organic farming.

The land allotted for field trials in organic farming has not been under cultivation for more than decade. Sources said it could take anywhere between one to three years to ready the land for starting organic farming.

The Punjab government has decided that the IIT campus will come up on 577 acres of Birla Farms. The council has been informed about the decision and told to shift their trials to 100 acres in Laddowal near Ludhiana, which is almost one-sixth of the land where the trials are on at present.

The council has also set up a laboratory at Birla Farms and farmers are often brought here to attend training modules in organic farming of wheat, paddy, barley, peas, guava and kinnow. But with the model farm at Ropar being shifted, all these extension activities would also be halted till the new farm at Laddowal
is ready.

Interestingly, though there is enough talk about the benefits of organic farming, Punjab has made little progress on this front. So far, only 1,800 acres of farm land has been certified by various agencies as being brought under organic farming.

Most of this land has been brought under organic farming due to the initiative taken by NGOs, while the state government’s body, Organic Farming Council of Punjab, has certified only 350 acres of land for the purpose of organic farming. Most of this land is located in south of Punjab, mainly Abohar, Fazilka and Faridkot.

“Around 12,000 acres of land is in the process of being converted for organic farming. The council recently got an audit conducted in 50 farms in which it was established that all traditional farmers had converted to organic farming. “We propose to bring another 5,000 acres of land under organic farming in the coming year,” said a senior officer of the council. 

Source: The Tribune : July 26,  2009