State's Organic Agricultural Model Falls Short; Farmers Suffer from Poor Yields and High Input Costs

The Union Budget of 2022 emphasised the need of promoting organic farming in India, particularly near the Ganga River. The Gangotri glacier in the Himalayas generates the river, which runs 2,525 kilometres and drains into the Bay of Bengal.

The river travels through ten states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, and West Bengal, on its way to the ocean. It covers an area of approximately 8,61,404 square kilometres. According to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's remarks, the government has been pushing organic farming in this area.

Patna, Buxar, Bhojpur, Saran, Vaishali, Samastipur, Khagaria, Begusarai, Lakhisarai, Bhagalpur, Munger, Katihar, and Nalanda - the Bihar government got a head start on this notion, having inaugurated its own organic corridor roughly two years ago in 13 districts along the Ganga's banks.

However, neither the Bihar government nor the central government has established the criteria for allocating these corridors along the Ganga.

The Bihar government's Organic Farming Corridor Scheme is a large-scale project. A cluster of at least 25 acres of farmland with a minimum of 25 farmers is required for the project to be implemented. Farmers that engage in organic farming receive Rs. 11,500 per acre each year. This grant is for no more than two acres of land.

The grant is provided for a maximum of three years under the plan. In addition, the farmer must spend at least Rs. 6,500 of the Rs. 11,500 subsidies on certified compost and a plastic drum from the National Program for Organic Production (NPOP). The remaining Rs. 5,000 must also be used to construct a vermicompost structure.

Farmers are obliged to sell their crops at reduced prices since there is no market for organic items.

Rusulpur Turki is a village located 45 kilometres north of Patna. Organic farming is being practised on 414 acres of land in the community, with 351 farmers participating.