Organic Mission service providers reminded of need to improve awareness levels SAGAR CHHETRI

GANGTOK, 24 Jan: Horticulture Department Principal Director, Khorlo Bhutia, has strictly directed service providers for the Sikkim Organic Mission to conduct massive trainings and awareness in their respective areas to educate people about the virtues of organic farming to make Sikkim Organic Mission a sustainable programme after 2015. He stressed that until all farmers, people and officials of the state are educated clearly on organic farming, the mission would not be effective.
Mr. Bhutia, who is also the Executive Director of Sikkim Organic Mission [SOM], was speaking to the representatives of service provider organisations today here at the Krishi Bhawan conference hall. The meeting was also attended by Additional Directors and Joint Directors of the department.
In the meeting, he expressed dissatisfaction over the level and quality of awareness and training programmes being conducted by service providers. These, he said, were not upto the mark.
On the same, he mentioned that training and awareness were the main components of the mission. He directed that monthly review meetings be held in earnest from now onwards.
Mr. Bhutia strictly directed all service providers to conduct 4 training and awareness programmes in each ward of their respective areas by 15 February, engaging good resource persons. He added that in case any service provider fails to conduct such programs, then that agency would be considered a defaulter and action initiated against it.
He added that funds will be released until the completion of training and awareness within the scheduled time with up-to-date documentation.
There is a strong directive from the State government that all farmers should be informed well on the advantages and benefits of organic farming, said Mr. Bhutia and added that the organic mission was conceptualized by the Chief Minister and was a historic step for Sikkim.
Sikkim has been applauded by many other states and organizations and several states have invited officers from Sikkim to support them in implementing organic mission in their respective states, he added.
“We cannot take any risks in Sikkim Organic Mission, so we must be serious in our efforts to turn Sikkim into an organic state by 2015,” he stated, adding that the response from farmers so far has been tremendous.
During the meeting, representatives also placed their issues and problems. Responding to them, Mr Bhutia gave suggestions and further urged them to take the mission as their personal responsibility and try to influence and convince people on their personal level as well.
It is informed that in the SOM Phase-I project an area of 18,242.493 hectares and 14,234 farmers attained organic status, while in SOM Phase-II project, an area of 18,897.143 hectares and 17,594 farmers got C-II status and will be attaining organic status by December this year.
Likewise, in SOM Phase-III project, an area of 22696 hectares got C-I status and will attain organic status by January 2015. In the pre-SOM projects carried out by some agencies, an area of 8,128 hectares and 8,031 farmers have already got organic status.
Similarly, for large cardamom, an area of 9,512 hectares have been newly registered for the organic certification programme.