National Programme for Organic Production-Organic agriculture

National Programme for Organic Production-Organic agriculture

GS-Paper-3: Economic - Agriculture – UPSC PRELIMS – Mains Application

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has sourced finger millet and barnyard millet from farmers in Himalayas (Uttarakhand) for exports to Denmark. These millets were exported to Denmark after meeting the organic certification standards of the European Union (EU).

Organic Food

Organic farm produce means the produce obtained from organic agriculture, while organic food means food products that have been produced in accordance with specified standards for organic production. According to FSSAI,’organic agriculture’ is a system of farm design and management to create an ecosystem of agriculture production without the use of synthetic external inputs such as chemical fertilisers, pesticides and synthetic hormones or genetically modified organisms.

At present, organic products are exported provided they are produced, processed, packed and labelled as per the requirements of the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP).

The NPOP or the Participatory Guarantee System for India (PGS-India) is a top- down mechanism run by the APEDA under the Ministry of Commerce for certifying general exports.
The NPOP came into inception in 2001 under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulations) Act, 1992.

Organic Food Regulatory System

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is the food regulator in the country and is also responsible for regulating organic food in the domestic market and imports. FSSAI had notified the existing certification system through Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations in 2017.

National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP)
- NPOP grants organic farming certification through a process of third party certification.
- It involves the accreditation programme for Certification Bodies, standards for organic production, promotion of organic farming etc.
- It is implemented by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
- The NPOP standards for production and accreditation system have been recognized by the European Commission, Switzerland and USA as equivalent to their respective accreditation systems.
Participatory Guarantee System for India (PGS)
- PGS is another process of certifying organic products.
- The certification is in the form of a documented logo or a statement.
- It is implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
- The organic farmers have full control over the certification process. PGS certification is only for farmers or communities that can organise and perform as a group. Individual farmers or groups of farmers smaller than five members are not covered under PGS.
- PGS is applicable on on-farm activities comprising of crop production, processing and livestock rearing, etc.
- Off-farm processing activities such as storage, transport and value addition activities by persons/agencies other than PGS farmers away from the group are not covered under PGS.
Organic foods are also required to comply with the requirements of labelling of FSSAI in addition to that of NPOP or PGS-India.

Significance - The NPOP certification recognized by the EU and Switzerland enables India to export unprocessed plant products to these countries without the requirement of additional certification.

It also facilitates export of Indian organic products to the United Kingdom even in the post Brexit phase.
It has also been recognized by the Food Safety Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) for trade of organic products in the domestic market.
Organic products covered under the bilateral agreement with NPOP need not to be recertified for import in India.

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)

This authority, which was established under the APEDA Act, 1985, functions under the control of Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
It has been mandated with the responsibility of export promotion and development of the scheduled products viz. fruits, vegetables and their products, meat products and poultry products, dairy products, etc.,
It has been entrusted with the responsibility to monitor import of sugar.

About APEDA: http://apeda.gov.in/apedawebsite/organic/index.htm

Source: PIB

Join Our Telegram

World bank logistic performance index 2023

World bank logistic performance index 2023

28 Apr, 23
SHARE

World bank logistic performance index 2023 India is now ranked 38th out of 139 nations in the Logistic Performance Index (LPI) 2023 of the World Bank. From its previous rankings of 44th in 2018 and 54th in 2014, this is a notable improvement. Earlier, the Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) Report 2022 was published by the Mini

Smuggling of Gold

28 Apr, 23
SHARE

Smuggling of Gold Airports discovered more than 63% of this illegal gold. The Department of Revenue Intelligence recently conducted the Golden Dawn Operation across India, seizing 101.7 kg of illegal gold valued at Rs 51 crore. Despite the fact that India receives a legal import of about 800-1,000 tonnes of gold each year, the illicit mar

India-Thailand Relations

27 Apr, 23
SHARE

India-Thailand Relations Both parties expressed satisfaction with the ongoing bilateral defence cooperation at the 8th India-Thailand Defence Dialogue, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand. Cultural ties and mutual cooperation that have been shaped by thousands of years of lasting historical and cultural ties characterise India and Thailand

Translocation of Elephants

27 Apr, 23
SHARE

Translocation of Elephants The Kerala government's appeal of the order of the Kerala High Court is rejected by the Supreme Court. The Kerala government's appeal against the Kerala High Court's directive to move Arikomban (Wild Elephant), the "rice tusker" of Munnar, to the Parambikulam tiger reserve was recently dismis

Global Buddhist Summit

26 Apr, 23
SHARE

Global Buddhist Summit In order to improve diplomatic and cultural ties with other nations, the Ministry of Culture recently organised the First Global Buddhist Summit 2023 in collaboration with the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC). About the summit "Responses to Contemporary Challenges: Philosophy to Praxis" is