"With an increased emphasis on sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) under the WTO regime, the NPOP was introduced and also established a national steering committee to monitor it," official sources said. They said the committee at the level of the commerce secretary would link producers to the export markets, enhance market access and price premia and assist resource poor farmers, with little access to external resources. With heightened awareness on health and environmental issues in developed nations, retail sales of OFB worldwide were projected to grow at five to ten per cent, in the next five years. NPOP intended to tap India's inherent advantage in the sphere due to a strong tradition of organic farming by further restricting use of chemical inputs.

NPOP would target among others - USA and Germany, the world's two largest markets for OFB with a volume of 4.2 bn and 1.2 bn USD respectively. Official sources said, the NPOP would set standards for OFB production and suitably revise them, from time to time in keeping with changing global situation.

They said there were more than 100 regional and national standards and a product had to conform to the standards applicable in the market, it seeks to enter. Having declared national standards, it would now seek recognition from and accord reciprocal recognition to standards of other nations and trading blocks. They said the programme would also institute a logo to be prescribed through accreditation agencies, on products qualifying for bearing the Indian Organic Label.

Tea, Coffee and Spices boards and APEDA had been declared as accreditation agencies, who in turn had issued detailed regulations, prescribing standards and procedures for accreditation, they added. They said OFB were the commodities of the future and this was the opportune time for farmers to switch to organic cultivation in right earnest. Though the output decreased by around 30 per cent in the first year after conversion, and remained below the initial levels for eight years, it is more than compensated by the prices it fetched from the beginning itself.

Around 20 of the 80 odd tea gardens in Darjeeling had already switched to organic cultivation and more than 10,000 hectares had been certified.

Similar initiatives had also been launched for coffee in Kodagu and Koppa districts in Karnataka, and spices in Idukki in Kerala, they said.

NPOP would adapt Indian standards to field level diversities, establish low cost credibile certification system with a network of independent agencies.It would help neutralise diseconomies of conversion if any, and develop domestic markets, they added.

(PTI)