LOS DISCURSOS COMO MANIFESTACIÓN DE CULTUR A

special reference to Mizoram state

Bikash Borthakur 1_{, Mahesh Chander} 2

Key words: Organic Animal Husbandry, North eastern region, Mizoram, Pig, Poultry

1 College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara, Assam, India. www.aau.ac.in, email: [email protected]

2 Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India, www.ivri.nic.in, email: [email protected]

Role of Livestock in Sustainable Agriculture IAHA Pre-Conference on Organic Animal Husbandry November 7-8, 2017 linked to the 19th Organic World Congress, New Delhi, India, November 9-11, 2017 Organized by IAHA, FiBL, OFAI, NCOF, ICAR-IVRI , ANTHRA, IFOAM

Introduction

The Government of India identified the North-Eastern Region as ideal for the promotion of organic farming. Several forms of organic farming are being practiced in diverse climates, particularly in rain-fed, tribal, and hill areas of the North-Eastern Region. Considering the hill ecology, its tribal customs of land tenure, economic strength in terms of livestock ownership, and limitations of terrain and irrigation, organic farming is seen as a promising avenue for development. Mizoram state of North-Eastern India formally recognised organic farming by passing Organic Farming Act on 12 July 2004 to introduce, adopt areas for, promote and regulate organic farming. Accordingly, substantial efforts were made in the capacity-building of trainers and farmers in different aspects of certified organic production in Mizoram. This study (Borthakur 2011) was carried out in Mizoram to identify the potential and constraints including training needs of the farmers in the area of organic farming.

Material and methods

For this study in Mizoram, exploratory research design methods with a multi-stage purposive- cum-random sampling procedure was adopted. The study utilised both primary and secondary sources of information to determine the status, problems and opportunities for organic farming development in the state. Out of the eight districts of Mizoram, three districts were selected purposively i.e. Kolasib, Aizawl & Champhai. In these three districts, the maximum number of training programmes on organic farming were held. In each of the selected three districts, a list of villages was made where the maximum number of organic farming activities was identified according to information from the Directorate of Agricultural Research and Education. From these three districts, five villages were randomly selected from each district. From each of the 15 selected villages, 10 farmers were randomly selected from each village, thus the total sample size for the farmers was 150 across three districts. In addition, the development officials from the central agencies and state development departments involved with organic promotion were selected to ascertain their views.

Results

1) Initiatives and actions taken

The State Government of Mizoram adopted the National Policy and Programme for organic production as the State Policy and Programme with some modifications as found necessary by the state government. The organic agriculture development programme was implemented through service providers as well as through necessary inputs and training for carrying out organic farming activities in the state of Mizoram. The Department of Agriculture, Mizoram, introduced the Organic Farming Project in 1996, and ran a trial at Lungmuat village, with very promising results. This was followed up by the formation of an ‘Organic Cell’ at the Directorate of Agriculture during November 2006. The State-level Committee on organic farming was formed during June 2007. Since then, all the Departmental farms were converted into model Organic Farms, wherein, various activities on organic agriculture were carried out. The Department has ten Model Organic Farms which are certified by SGS Certification agency.

1.1)The status of organic certification

The District Agricultural Officers of all eight districts were engaged to look after the Internal Control System (ICS) of various Organic Farmers Groups. All the service providers had formed Organic Farmers Groups totalling 1,500 members under each service provider covering 750 ha. One Cert Asia Agri. Certification (P) Ltd. was engaged for Group Certification. Field Inspectors were also engaged for the administration of the Internal Control System of various districts.

The Department had established 25 vermiculture hatcheries costing INR 37.50 lakh with funding from the National Centre for Organic Farming (NCOF). The small vermiculture units were set up at farmers’ fields in each district. In all, 400 units were established by giving assistance @ Rs. 15,000/- per unit to each individual farmer, in additon to 166 units already distributed to the organic farmers during 2008-09 at various districts. To motivate and encourage the organic farmers, and also to raise awareness, two market outlets were established at Aizawl and Dartlang where various organic products are sold under Organic Mizoram Label.

For the composting of fruits and vegetable waste, composting units were established at MIFFCO’s Food Park, Chhingchhip and at Thingdawl Model Organic Farm. The Department had set up 35 vermiculture hatcheries and extended assistance to 566 farmers for setting-up small vermiculture units. In order to encourage the local production of vermicompost, the Department purchased 200 Mt of locally produced vermi-compost from the assisted farmers from various districts under the macro-management of Agriculture (CSS), and distributed to the deserving organic farmers. A state biological Control Laboratory was established at Neihbawi Model Organic Farm. A State Bio-fertilizer production unit was established at Neihbawi Model Organic Farm, and a Mizo Organic Commodities Board was formed in 2007 comprising 13 members. Mizoram Vermicompost

Producer Association was formed in November 2009 comprising 25 members. The APEDA

conducted WEB-based traceability training in 2009. The SGS organic certification agency certified various organic producer cooperative enterprises in different villages in all districts of Mizoram in February 2009 (Table 1).

Table1: Status of Organic certification in 2009

Organic producer company District Area certified (ha)

Products

Mizo Organic Lawngtlai Products Producer Company Limited

Lawngtlai 833.3 Turmeric, ginger, orange, banana, chili, passion fruits and mango.

Mizo Organic Mamit Producer Company Limited

Mamit 466.8 Turmeric, ginger, orange, banana, chili, passion fruits and mango.

Mizorganics Kolasib Farmer Producer Company Limited

Kolasib 1691.8 Turmeric, ginger, orange, banana, chili, passion fruits and mango.

Mizorganic Champhai Producer Company Limited

Champhai 783.1 Turmeric, ginger, orange, banana, chili, passion fruits, pine apple and mango. Mizo Organic Aizawl Producer

Company Limited

Aizawl 763.9 Turmeric, ginger, orange, banana, chili, passion fruits, pine apple and mango. Mizo Organic Lunglei Farmer

Producer Company Limited

Lunglei 834.7 Turmeric, ginger, orange, banana, chili, passion fruits, pine apple and mango. Mizorganics Serchhip Farmer

Producer Company Limited

Serchhip 338.0 Turmeric, orange, and mango Mizorganic Saiha Producer

Company Limited

Saiha 403.5 Turmeric, ginger, orange, banana, chili, and mango.

2) Extent of adoption of organic animal husbandry standards by the farmers:

The extent of adoption is defined by the extent to which one makes use of organic farming practices or adopts a recommended practice in his/her farming operations. Table 2 shows that all (100%) the farmers were full adopters of organic farming standards of land holdings, local breeds, natural breeding, sufficient fresh air, natural daylight, lying and/or resting area, ample access to fresh water and feed, transport and slaughter and no respondents used medicine and vaccines for

their animals. As Mizoram is very hilly, the free movement of animals and grazing is restricted in almost all parts of the state. So, about 50% of the farmers were low adopters of organic farming standards relating to the free movements of animals and grazing; 30% were partial adopters, and 20% were high adopters. About 50% of the farmers were low adopters of the organic farming standards relating to protection against excessive sunlight, temperature, rain and wind; whereas 30% were partial adopters, and 20% were high adopters.

Table 2. Extent of adoption of organic farming standards by the farmers

Sl No Requirement Low adopter

(Upto 33%) Partial adopter (34%-66%) Full adopter (67%-100%) 1 Land holdings - - 150(100) 2 Free movements of animals 75(50) 45 (30) 30 (20) 3 Grazing 75(50) 45 (30) 30 (20) 4 Local Breeds - - 150(100) 5 Natural Breeding - - 150(100) 6 Sufficient fresh air and natural

daylight

- - 150(100) 7 Protection against excessive

sunlight, temperature, rain and wind.

75(50) 45 (30) 30 (20)

8 Enough lying and/or resting area - - 150(100) 9 Ample access to fresh water and

feed

- - 150(100) 10 Organic Feeding Standard 75(50) 45 (30) 30 (20) 11 Use of Medicinal treatment - - 150(100) 12 Vaccination - - 150(100) 13 Transport and slaughter - - 150(100) 14 Record keeping 75 (50) 60 (40) 15(10)

* Figure in parenthesis indicates percentage

3) Bottlenecks

3.1) Problems encountered by the organic farmers:The lack of organised marketing facilities for the organic products was the major problem reported by 100% of farmers, followed by certification procedure and cost (80%), market demand and consumer preferences (70%), and poor technical support by the departments (60%). About 30% of the respondents reported unavailability of organic feed, whereas only a few farmers (20%) reported lack of financial support.

3.2) Constraints faced by the functionaries in promotion of organic farming: The lack of organised marketing facilities was reported by 100% of the functionaries, followed by shortage of trained staff (80%), market demand and consumer preferences (70%), delay in releasing the organic development fund (60%) and certification procedure and cost (60%).

Discussion and Conclusion

The government of Mizoram has done appreciable work in setting-up Model Organic Farms and organic villages, with substantial efforts made in capacity-building. The survey and case studies revealed that there is high potential for organic pig and poultry production in the State due to the natural advantages of traditional rearing systems and the preferece by local people for traditional

products. Almost every household in Mizoram rears pig and backyard poultry. The traditional rearing practices are very close to the organic farming standards set under NPOP. So, the State Animal Husbandry Department should take initiatives in this regard with the Government of India assistance. Organic market outlets should be developed and promoted to ensure good prices for organic products. The smooth channelling of funds for the development of organic farming would go a long way in the development of organic farming in Mizoram and elsewhere in North-Eastern region, so the concerned agencies may want look into it.

References

Borthakur B (2011).Integrated Organic Farming in Mizoram: a multi-dimensional analysis. Ph.D. thesis, Indian Veterinary Research Institute (Deemed University).

Abstract

With the last ice age grassland became the biggest biome of the world’s landmass. The contemporary bread baskets – the American Prairie and Pampas and the Black Earth of the Ukraine – are steppe soils created in co-evolution between grass and grazer – mainly ruminants. The Aurochs roamed between Western Europe and Eastern Asia and in North Africa, the bison in Eurasia and North America and the guanaco in South America.

Land-use-changes and intensification are leading to soil compaction, loss of soil fertility, water storage capacity and biodiversity. This is the case for grassland too – since it is increasingly under pressure. It is often viewed as having little potential, a bad image of grazing has developed and cows are even perceived as climate killers.

But worldwide steppe soil is the biggest CO2 store. Today sustainable grazing systems offer the biggest natural capacity to increase soil fertility and to sequester carbon. In this way ruminants serve as climate protectors – and are not competing with human nutrition.