Mr. Manoj Kumar is Assistant Manager and Event Coordinator at International Competence Centre for Organic Agriculture (ICCOA), Bangalore
Q.1 In your experience, What is your perception about market status of organic products in India?
A.1 Organic food is a growing business with good long-term prospects. The demand for the organic foods is rising in domestic markets at 15-20 %. The sales of organic products worldwide are touching US$ 50 billion and are expected to reach USD 100 billion by 2012. The trade estimate in India shows that the market for organic products have crossed USD 155 million in 2010 (exports at USD 120 million, i.e. INR 5500 million; and the domestic markets touching 35 million, i.e. INR1500 million).
The Indian organic produce is mainly exported to Japan, Netherlands, Italy, France, Switzerland, the UK and USA. India’s organic export is around Rs. 550 crores, which is only 0.25 % of the organic trade. India should target to reach at least USD 1 billion by 2012, thereby capturing at least 2.5% of global market share.
Emergence of Modern Format retail, growing concerns for health and increasing purchasing power of consumers has accelerated the growth of organic food sector in India. Organized Retail chains like Spencer’s, More, Hyper city, Spar, Nature’s Basket and many more have created Organic as separate category. Specialty stores like 24 Letter Mantra, Down to Earth (Morarka), Fab India are selling the certified organic products under their own brand name. Every month in India multi-branded specialty stores are introducing organic products in their stores.
Top 8 metros of India (Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad) contribute more than 80 per cent of sales in country. The most demanded food category are Vegetables, Fruits, Dairy products, Bakery products, Oil, Wheat/Atta, Frozen products and Rice.
Q.2 What are the thrust areas in which India Has to work upon in Organic Industry?
A.2 A systematic approach including all stakeholders of organic sector is important for developing Indian organic sector. Networking activities to create strategic alliances to boost both market access and farm productivity should be the priority. Here are some important thrust areas:
1. Policy Intervention from Govt.
2. Organic Animal husbandry (Dairy , Poultry and others)
3. Technical Capacity Enhancement and Extension
4. Integrated Input Production, On-farm input production and Bio-technology
5. Package of Practices (technologies for Soil Health improvement, Pest control)
6. Processing and Value addition Infrastructure Development
7. Facilitate Creation of Producer companies
8. Internal Quality/Control system (ICS) for quality assurance
Q.3 What is the knowledge level of farmers regarding organic farming?
A.3 Level of awareness about organic farming varies state to state in India. For the Indian farmers, the main motivating factor to convert from inorganic to organic are the market of organic products, the premium price which they get on organic products and health hazardous of inorganic methods of production. Farmers from hilly regions of India (Himalayan regions and North-east India) which is by default organic, are now focusing on certification of their lands which is the result of government projects to promote organic farming in India.
Basics of organic farming like maintaining buffer zone, mixed cropping, on-farm input generation, absolutely no use of synthetic chemicals and fertilizers, Internal control system, maintain the desired documents for certification, registration with certification agencies, etc. are taught by the local NGOs/organizations which are working for the promotion of organic farming.
Farmers who have registered for organic farming, knows preparation of organic formulation like Bijamruta, Panchgavya, vermin-wash, Biodynamic formulation, etc. Government schemes under NHM, RKVY, TMNE, etc., have accelerated the organic movement in India. Small and marginal farmers comes together to form clusters which helps in reducing cost of certification and input generation.
Q.4 What are the experiences of being in the Industry?
A.4 As it is a fast growing sector in India, there is a lot to do. There is addition of numbers of small and medium player in this industry every month but there is huge gap in understandings of consumer’s about organic and its benefits. As per capita purchasing power and concerns about health is increasing, demand for organic products are also increasing. Consumers need full basket of organic including fresh fruits & vegetables, dairy and meat products. But most of the players are failed to fulfil the needs of the consumers.
Organic products are still a life style product in India. Sometimes the premium which is paid by the consumers to buy organic goes up to 100 per cent. Consumers do not mind paying 15-20 per cent extra to buy organic products but consistency in supply and availability of organic products is also a major problem in India.
There are not much subsidies or support from the government, which force farmers to switch from organic to inorganic. If adequate support from govt. and assurance of market is there, farmers will be more than happy to go for organic.
Q.5 Where do you see India 5ys from now in the Industry?
A.5 As Govt. of India has announced separate standards & organic logo (AGMARK logo) for the domestic marketing of organic products in India, it will built credibility among the Indian consumers. Every state will have its own certification agency which will help farmers to get their land certified conveniently. Seeing the growth in recent past, it is very easy to estimate that India will have more than 2 million ha land under organic management. Export potential will be Rs. 25000 million (2.5 % of global share) and total turnover with organic products will be more than Rs. 40 billion in India.
No comments:
Post a Comment