Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) has been brought out an exclusive Package of Practices (PoP) for organic farming.
The package, the first of its kind in the county, was officially released by Minister for Agriculture V.S. Sunil Kumar at a State-level meeting held here recently to chalk out an action plan for Kerala’s representation in the forthcoming Organic World Congress.
The Minister said the organic PoP would help achieve the desired shift from indiscriminate use of chemicals to eco-friendly and scientific farming practices.
“Substituting protection chemicals not only helps prevent health hazards, but also aids biodiversity conservation and promotion of indigenous practices. The Department of Agriculture will use this compilation to aid and guide farmers,” he said.
KAU Vice Chancellor P. Rajendran said the university was the first among agricultural universities in the country to prepare a separate PoP for organic farming.
“The KAU has been publishing PoP regularly and revising the contents every four years. We compiled an ad hoc package for organic farming in 2008, which was well received by the stakeholders. Based on the feedback, a new PoP with exclusive organic practices has been brought out. This repository will help to realise the goals of food security, safety and nutritional security,” he said.
S. Estelitta, Director of Extension, said the PoP and the Malayalam version of the PoP to be released next week would be of great value to rural farmers as well as those who wish to establish home gardens in urban and peri-urban areas. The Package of Practices (Organic) Crops: 2017, published by the Extension Directorate, contains good agricultural practices, organic certification and agro ecological engineering besides organic protocols for pest and disease management for various crops.
