Dec 3, 2017
Is that an organic carrot? A look at why it’s still so hard to tell
There are more organic farmers, more buyers. More government funding too. Why then is the movement still flailing? The short answer: It’s all about the supply chain.
India has plenty of government schemes for the organic grower, few for the supplier. Bio-fertiliser is subsidised, there are easy loans for setting up a farm. But there are no incentives for building a fleet of refrigerated vans or brokering deals with supermarkets. Much of the supply chain infrastructure that exists is linked to large companies, which export for higher margins.
On paper, India’s organic movement looks fantastic. We’re home to almost 6 lakh organic farmers, the highest tally in the world. We rank ninth in terms of area under organic agriculture. This financial year, we’ll spend a record Rs 350 crore on organic farming.
Our educated middle class is already convinced that food grown with pesticides, hormones, chemical fertilisers and bio-engineered genes harms both the body and the earth. All the farms in one state, Sikkim, are now organic. And urban organic farmers are all over the place, smiling out of news reports about how they quit their corporate jobs to grow tomatoes.
Yet, in bazaars, supermarkets and restaurants, it’s hard to find certified organic fruit and vegetables. A shop’s ‘organic’ section stocks tea, spices, honey, even organic peanut butter and chocolate – the smallest components of our meals. Most product labels carry leafy logos. But no can quite recall one from memory, let alone explain what it represents.
Why hasn’t the party reached our plates? Because India’s organic revolution, well-meaning and steadily growing, is a bit of a mess.
Sure we have the most farmers. But the vast majority are on tiny holdings, whose output isn’t big enough to push up production numbers. The acreage that puts us in the top 10 constitutes only 1.1% of our fields. In contrast, 11 nations have 10% or more organic farmland. Our Rs 350 crore record pales against this year’s Rs 70,000 crore spend on chemical fertiliser subsidies. Sikkim’s journey took 15 years.
And those urban farmers from the headlines? There simply aren’t enough of them to make a difference. Meanwhile, India’s largest organic producers, companies with thousands of farmers and hectares, sell the bulk of their processed food abroad, where profits are higher.
But domestic interest is growing. In Goa, Karan Manral and his wife, Yogita Mehra, have been helping local farmers go organic and find buyers. “I get 25 calls a month in Goa from yoga studios, wellness farms, restaurants, and families who want produce. I can barely meet the demand,” he says.
Manral’s challenge echoes one that India’s farmers, sellers and even policymakers increasingly face: how to get fresh organic food from growers to buyers quickly, safely, cheaply and consistently.
“I feel I’m standing atop a hill, with the farmer and the consumer on either side. Neither can see the other,” Manral says.
Seed capital
Organic fruit and vegetables need a separate supply chain – down to their own delivery trucks and crispers in the local supermarket – because you can’t label every cabbage.
In cities, weekly farmers’ markets have met with some success. But they’re less convenient than the anytime trip to the bazaar or supermarket. There are also subscription services that home-deliver farm-fresh greens. But you can’t choose, or even know in advance, which veggies you’ll get.
The lack of assured sales is probably why farmers prefer to grow produce for companies that will process them into non-perishable, high-profit foods: mango jam, kale chips, ready-to-drink soup and white turmeric powder.
Surya Shastry, who heads the Bengaluru-based company, Phalada Agro, sells everything from organic tur dal to pasta sauce online. His company was started in 1999 and catered to exports until he found enough local demand to launch his processed-food brand, Pure & Sure, in 2011.
The trick to getting farmers to go organic and stay organic, he believes, is to make it financially worth their while. “Our focus has been to first create a market and a robust distribution channel,” he says. “If a farmer’s yield does not reach you and me, even for a year, he will go back to his old ways. We have 1,500 farmers and 8,000 acres – small for a company as old as ours. But keeping them engaged is what builds sustainability.”
Processed-food companies even help their farmers get organic certification from the government – expensive, but globally recognised proof that the yield was obtained without chemical shortcuts (see box).
But those who grow for direct consumption, typically the small farms at the edges of your city, have a tougher task of proving their produce is clean. They end up clustering to qualify for accreditation, get little expert advice and even after certification, struggle to find buyers themselves since there are no agricultural produce market committees set up to channel organic food into bazaars.
“From the beginning, the government’s focus has been on exports rather than its own people,” says environmentalist Claude Alvares, director of the Organic Farming Association of India who helped organise the Organic World Congress (OWC) in November in Greater Noida. “It took us nearly 15 years to develop domestic certification, and this has cost us credibility.”
At the inspection and organic certification firm Ecocert-India, Amol Nirban, a regional sales manager, says they’re now in the process of certifying an organic pineapple farm in Meghalaya – “the best quality you can find”.
But the logistics of delivering them inexpensively to even Delhi are still proving close to impossible. “There are plenty of government schemes for the organic grower, few for the supplier,” he says. Bio-fertiliser is subsidised, there’s help to build a compost pit. Loans to set up a farm come easier too. But there are no incentives for anyone building a separate fleet of refrigerated vans or brokering deals with supermarkets.
Green turn
The world is intensifying its efforts to convert more land to organic farming. This isn’t fuelled by the desire to eat better. It’s fuelled by fear that soon, there won’t be enough to eat at all.
Decades of fertiliser and pesticide use (to grow the high-yield hybrid seeds that fed the exploding population) have created farms where the soil simply can’t regenerate itself. A UN report predicts that by 2050, 33 years from now, we may have 2.1 billion more mouths to feed.
For many, the salvation rhetoric is to go organic – rotating multiple crops on the same field, using natural pest-control and fertiliser, and adapting to climate to keep the soil useful. The catch: Large scale conversion costs money. “And it takes a while before soil regenerates, before farms create their own compost and pollination and recover their costs of production,” says Jacob Zachariah, who grows fruit and vegetables along with his wife Mini Pant at their 12-acre farm in Gholwad, outside Mumbai..
It’s a long wait. Even organic farmers find it hard to eat organic food at every meal. For Zacharia and Pant, having an on-site orchard means there’s always enough fruit for two, but they have organic veggies only four days a week, organic rice twice a week. “Eating all organic is only if it’s available and can be sourced easily,” Pant says.
Confectionary unit sealed at Safa Kadal
Unygienic packets of groundnut chikkis seized
Authorities have sealed a confectionary unit at Safa Kadal area of Downtown for manufacturing items in unhygienic conditions.
Assistant Commissioner Food Safety, Srinagar in a statement said a checking squad inspected a confectionary unit which was manufacturing items using fake labels over them and was operating in total unhygenic conditions.
“On specific information that a food unit operating from Safakadal Srinagar is manufacturing groundnut chikkies and other confectionary items in the name of Manies sweets and Namkeen Okhla Bihar New Delhi, a team of food safety officers raided the unit,” the statement said. ”During the inspection it was found that manufacturing was being carried out on a large scale in total unsanitary conditions and without obtaining license under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. After lifting samples the whole stock which included 8500 packets of groundnut chikki and fake labels in huge quantity was seized and operation of the unit was closed,” he added.
Food menu of children in anganwadis set to improve
State Government to utilise the services of NIN
Children enrolled in anganwadis in Telangana will get better food starting next year. With additional funds coming in from the Centre, the State will rope in National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) to prepare an improved menu for both regular and severely malnurished children in 2018.
Speaking to The Hindu, Viziendira Boyi, Director of Women and Child Welfare Department, said NIN’s help will be sought especially when it comes to feeding children below 6-year-of-age who suffer severe malnutrition. Currently, such children below six years are given Balamrutham (a protein-food supplement) produced by Telangana foods. The children are also given one egg each day.
“Because the government increased funds substantially by ₹3, we will be able to provide each child better nutrition than what was given earlier. Once NIN draws up a chart, we will implement the changes with immediate effect,” Ms. Boyi said. Healthy children below the age of six might also get a new menu because contribution per day to each of them has gone up by ₹2. Currently they are given egg, mid-day meal and snack. Interestingly, the State government has already been spending an additional ₹1 and above on each child under Arogyalakshmi scheme. “Additional funds might make children’s snack menu better. Instead of Kurkure (salty snacks) we might be able to provide them half a fruit,” Ms. Boyi said.
Pregnant women and lactating mothers might have to do with the single meal and 200 ml of milk they get each day because the State Government already covers 83% of the costs incurred. “Centre’s funds might increase the budget for mid-day meals from ₹21 to ₹23 in the State. This is reduce burden on State especially at a time when egg prices and dal prices keep fluctuating,” Ms. Boyi explained.
In mid-day meal for mothers, anganwadis give rice, dal, vegetable curry, egg and 200 ml of milk that is covered under the Arogylakshmi scheme.
Crackdown on eatery, stocks worth Rs 35 lakh seized
It can be recalled on November 1, a four-year-old boy Nireekshan in Eluru reportedly died after consuming ‘Golden Rings’ (a type of snacks) supplied by the accused Ashoka Enterprises. He died after a toy packed in the packet was stuck in his throat while consuming the snacks. Doctors said the boy was suffocated as the toy jammed his oesophagus. “Following the incident, we conducted raids on Ashoka Enterprises on November 2 and seized stocks worth `15 lakh. FSSAI officials sent samples to the forensic science laboratory where reports suggested that Gold Ring snacks is unfit for consumption,” said Regional Vigilance and Enforcement Officer M Ravindranath Babu.
During the investigation on Friday, V&E officials found the accused was importing snacks of different brands manufactured at Bangalore and other cities and supplying them to retail traders in Krishna and the neighboring districts. “Even after taking action against him, Ashok imported snacks like ‘Gold Rings’, ‘Diamond Rings’ and other brands again. He imported stock worth about `43 lakh and has sold `10 lakh stock so far. Notices will be served to the trader seeking explanation and action will be taken against the manufacturer as well as the seller,” said Babu.
New curb on import of food articles
New Delhi : The Government has empowered the Custom not to clear any food article unless it has a valid shelf life of not less than 60% or three months before expiry, whichever is less at the time of import.
A Gazette notification issued by the Health Ministry on behalf of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India on November 30 also requires the food importers to register with the directorate general of foreign trade and possess the valid import-export code.
It also empowers the authority to profile the importer, custom house agent, manufacturer of the imported product, product itself, country of origin, source country of consignment, port of entry, history of compliance and any other parameters as it deems fit for assessing the risk associated with the commodity.
The notification also requires the importer to submit certificate of sanitary export from authorised agencies in exporting countries for the categories of food as may be specified by the Food Authority from time to time.
HC pulls up govt for not appointing food safety commissioner
Withholding the contempt proceedings on the assurance of state counsel, the court granted two weeks time to the government to comply with the order.
“No plausible cause is shown to extend the time, leaving no option for the Court, but to proceed against the erring officers by initiating contempt proceedings against them, however, on assurance of the learned State counsel that the directions of this Court, without further loss of time, shall be complied with in letter and spirit before the next date of hearing, it is thought just and proper to defer the initiating of contempt proceedings against the erring officers and two weeks’ further time is granted to the Commissioner Secretary to Government, Health and Medical Education Department and Commissioner Secretary to Government, Finance Department to submit the compliance,” the division bench of Justice Yaqoob Mir and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey said.
The court observed that the post of Commissioner of Food Safety along with all the supportive staff has to be appointed and made available to ensure functioning of of Food Safety office.
“We had already given much time and we cannot take this issue lightly,” said Justice Magrey.
Previously, the court on 5th October had directed state to create the post of Commissioner, of Food Safety along with supportive staff but it observed that the Finance Department has only cleared the proposal for the creation of the post of Commissioner and not the supportive staff. The Finance Department was further directed to clear the proposal within a week and the proposal was supposed to be placed before cabinet for approval. The whole process was given six weeks to get complete.
But no compliance report has been filed after the said date.
Also the court on previous hearing was informed that the kitchen is yet to be vacated by police authorities who had occupied it. No compliance report was submitted on this issue also.
The court directed State to file status report indicating the steps taken to have the entire space under the control of forensic science laboratory.
However, the court observed that labels of the packaged food products and are being checked in accordance with the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The court was informed that during the checking drives, some of them were found violating the law.
The court sought status report indicating the action taken against the offenders and also details about the drives taken out.
File compliance report regarding creation of food commissioner post, supporting staff: HC to Govt
Jammu and Kashmir High Court (HC) has directed State government to file compliance report regarding the creation for the post of food commissioner along with the supporting staff for the Food Safety Office.
The single bench headed by Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey granted two week time to Commissioner Secretary to Government, Health and Medical Education Department and Commissioner Secretary to Government, Finance Department to file the compliance report.
Previously, the court on 5th of October had directed State to create the post of Commissioner, of Food Safety along with supportive staff.
The Court observed that the Finance Department has only cleared the proposal for the creation of the post of Commissioner and not the supportive staff.
Finance Department was further directed to clear the proposal within a week and the proposal was supposed to be placed before cabinet for approval. The whole process was given six weeks to get complete.
The directions were made after Additional Advocate General, MI Dar sought more time to file the compliance report.
The court remarked that it shall be ensured that the post of Commissioner and the supportive staff be made available for the smooth functioning of the Food Safety Office.
On previous occasion, the Court was also informed that the kitchen is yet to be vacated by police authorities who had occupied it. The Court directed State to file status report indicating the steps taken to get the entire space under the control of forensic science laboratory.
However, the Court observed that labels of the packaged food products are being checked in accordance with the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The court was informed that during the checking drives, some (persons) of them were found violating the law.
The court sought status report indicating the action taken against the offenders and also details about the drives.
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