Dehradun, Nov 24: Uttaranchal government has taken several initiatives to provide institutional support to small farmers keen on organic farming with each district being provided with at least one market centre under rural development projects. Small and marginal farmers are being motivated to form farmer interest groups (FIGs) and self-help groups (SHGs) for the purpose, Uttaranchal Chief Secretary R S Tolia told reporters on the sidelines of a national seminar on `organic farming in mountain states'.
The state government has set up Uttaranchal Organic Commodity Board, supported by the Ratan Tata Trust, to give a boost to the sector in the hill state, Tolia said.
The two-day seminar is being organised by the state government, bringing together all the mountain states, to discuss issues relating to organic farming in hilly areas.
More than 6000 families have already been sensitised towards organised organic farming systems, he added.
The organic farms in the region are attracting a lot of tourists and there are plans to market these villages as 'organic farming destinations' across the globe, Tolia said.
Bureau Report