North East- Global Organic Hub organised by Indian Chamber of Commerce

Shillong, march 29: Keeping harmony with nature and using all its blessings without the intervention of foreign agent for organic farming will make North East a Global hub for Organic food, said Mr. B. Mawlong, Jt. Secretary, Agriculture department, Govt of Meghalaya while elaborating on North East as an Organic Hub Seminar in Shillong today by Indian Chamber of Commerce. He further stated that utilisation of chemical pesticides and fertilizers are dangerous for health as these chemicals end up in our bodies. As far as pesticides are concerned, not all pests are harmful. We can use the good pests as a natural barrier to the harmful ones. Govt of Meghalaya has declared not to use any pesticides under Meghalaya Organic Mission in 2015. But Mr. Mawlong said that this is a policy not the mandate of the Govt. So to make it a reality the Farmers should do away with any chemical inputs. He emphasized on plant protection crops and planting of high resistance crops. The youths should be encouraged to practice organic farming and with this North East Can be global Hub for Organic Food as there are very few places in the world where chemical fertilizer consumption is negligible
Earlier in the Seminar Dr Krishan Chandra, Managing Director of National center for organic farming said about the Parampara Krishi Vikash Yojna under which farmers can certify their produce at free of cost which is otherwise very costly. This scheme has been very successful in some of the states and now North eastern states should reap benefits out of it. He also said about plans to open a office in Shillong to facilitate this. Dr S Choudhury Managing Director of NERCORMP said we should go for the methods of farming the way god has made the earth. He further stated that it is only in 50s and 60s we started using chemical fertilizers and now the time has time has come to rectify this mistake which has resulted in destruction of our soil and human health. Mr. R. K. Mondal, Deputy General Manager of APEDA has urged the farmers and entrepreneurs to benefit from the various schemes of APEDA for Packing, Storing, Transporting, Marketing and finally exporting their organic products. The Seminar saw a participation of various stakeholders of faming – The Central govt agencies, farmers, Entrepreneurs.