Agricultural MarketingOrganised marketing of agricultural commodities has been promoted in the country through a network of regulated markets. Most of the State governments and Union Territories have enacted legislations (APMC Act) to provide for regulation of agricultural produce markets. While by the end of 1950, there were 286 regulated markets in the country, today the number stands at 7,521 (31.3.2005). Besides, the country has 27,294 rural periodical markets, about 15 per cent of which function under the ambit of regulation. The advent of regulated markets has helped in mitigating the market handicaps of producers/ sellers at the wholesale assembling level. but, the rural periodic markets in general, and the tribal markets in particular, remained out of its developmental ambit.

Agriculture sector needs well functioning markets to drive growth, employment and economic prosperity in rural areas of the country. In order to provide dynamism and efficiency into the marketing system, large investments are required for the development of post harvest and cold chain infrastructure nearer to the farmers field. A major portion of this investment is expected from the private sector, for which an appropriate regulatory and policy environment is necessary. Alongside, enabling policies need to be put in place to encourage procurement of agricultural commodities directly from farmers field and to establish effective linkage between the farm production and the retail chain and food processing industries. Accordingly, amendment to the State APMC Act for deregulation of marketing system in the country is suggested to promote investment in marketing infrastructure, motivating corporate sector to undertake direct marketing and to facilitate a national integrated market.

The Ministry of Agriculture formulated a model law on agricultural marketing for guidance and adoption by State Governments. The model legislation provides for establishment of Private Markets/Yards, Direct Purchase Centres, Consumer/Farmers Markets for direct sale and promotion of Public Private Partnership in the management and development of agricultural markets in the country. Provision has also been made in the Act for constitution of State Agricultural Produce Marketing Standards Bureau for promotion of Grading, Standardisation and Quality Certification of agricultural produce. This would facilitate pledge financing, direct purchasing, forward/future trading and exports. Several States have initiated steps for amending the APMC Act.

Infrastructure RequirementInvestment requirement for the development of marketing, storage and cold storage infrastructure in the country has been estimated to be huge and with a view to induce investment in the development of marketing infrastructure as envisaged above, the Ministry has implemented the following Plan Schemes: A capital investment subsidy scheme titled "Construction of Rural Godowns" is being implemented w.e.f. 1 April 2001. The main objectives of the scheme include creation of scientific storage capacity with allied facilities in rural areas to meet various requirements of farmers for storing farm produce, processed farm produce, agricultural inputs, etc., and prevention of distress sale by creating the facility of pledge loan and marketing credit. Under the original scheme, back ended subsidy @ 25 per cent of capital cost of the project was provided. In case of NE States, hilly areas and SC/ST entrepreneurs, subsidy was provided @ 33.33 per cent of the capital cost of the project. The Scheme has since been modified with effect from 20 October 2004, to provide subsidy @ 25 per cent to farmers, Agriculture graduates, cooperatives and Central Warehousing Corporation/State Warehousing Corporations. All other categories of individuals companies and corporations are now given subsidy @ 15 per cent of the project cost. The scheme has been made farmers friendly by allowing subsidy for smaller godowns of 50 MT size in general and of 25 in hilly areas. Five lakh tonnes capacity to be created is reserved for small farmers. The scheme is being implemented through NABARD and NCDC. Till 31 May 2006, 11,583 storage projects having a capacity of 166.42 lakh tonnes have been sanctioned under the scheme . With a view to establish a nation-wide information network for speedy collection and dissemination of price and market related information to farmers, electronic connectivity is being provided to all important agricultural markets in the country under a Central scheme, "Market Research and Information Network". 2,408 market nodes and 92 State Marketing Boards and Directorate of Marketing and Inspection offices have been networked on a single portal, wherein daily prices of more than 300 commodities and about 2000 varieties are being reported. It is planned to connect 2,700 markets in all, under the scheme during the 10th Plan. The Ministry of Agriculture is implementing another Central Sector scheme for "Development / Strengthening of Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure, Grading and Standardisation". Under the scheme, investment subsidy is provided @ 25 per cent on the capital cost of the marketing infrastructure development project subject to a maximum of Rs 50 lakh for each project in all States and @ 33.3 per cent of capital cost subject to a maximum of Rs 60 lakh for each project in case of North Eastern States, hilly areas and to Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes entrepreneurs. In respect of infrastructure projects of State Governments/State Agencies, there is no upper ceiling on subsidy to be provided under the scheme. The scheme is reform linked, to be implemented in those States/Union Territories wherein the law dealing with agriculture markets (Agricultural Produce Marketing Regulation Act) allows setting up of competitive agricultural markets in private and cooperative sectors, direct marketing and contract farming. The States of Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Manipur, Sikkim, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Union Terriroty of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli have notified to receive assistance under the Scheme. The remaining States/UTs are in the process of amending their APMC Acts. 158 training and awareness programmes have been conducted in the notified States/UTs. A total number of 259 new project proposals have been provided advance subsidy of Rs 516.30 lakh by NABARD in the States of Madhya Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. The Department has recently taken the initiative to promote modern terminal markets for fruits, vegetables and other perishables in important urban centres of the country. These markets would provide state of art infrastructure facilities for electronic auction, cold chain and logistics and operate through primary collection centres conveniently located in producing areas to allow easy access to farmers. The terminal markets are envisaged to operate on a Hub-and-Spoke format wherein the Terminal Market (the hub) would be linked to a number of collection centres (the spokes), conveniently located in key production centers to allow easy access to farmers for the marketing of their produce. The concept on setting up of Terminal Markets for perishable commodities was discussed with the State Governments and interested private enterprises at a national conference of State Ministers held on 20 February 2006 at New Delhi. Based on the discussions, a Committee has been constituted under the Chairmanship of Director General, National Institute of Agricultural Marketing, Jaipur with members from participating State Governments to develop a framework for the bidding process for selecting the enterprise for the implementation of terminal market projects and to work out implementation modalities. Central assistance to these projects is planned by way of equity participation. The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation has three organisations dealing with marketing under its administrative control, namely, the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI), Faridabad, the Ch. Charan Singh National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM), Jaipur and the Small Farmers Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC), New Delhi.

Directorate Of Marketing And InspectionIt is an attached office of the Department and is headed by Agricultural Marketing Adviser. The Directorate has its Head Office at Faridabad (Haryana), Branch Head Office at Nagpur (Maharashtra), 11 Regional Offices and the Central Agmark Laboratory at Nagpur. Besides, there are 26 Sub-Offices, 16 Regional Agmark Laboratories (RALs) spread all over the country.

Functions of Directorate Rendering advice on statutory regulation, development and management of agricultural produce markets to the States/UTs Promotion of Standardization and Grading of agricultural and allied produce under the Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937 Market Research, Surveys and Planning Training of personnel in Agricultural Marketing Marketing Extension Agricultural Marketing Information Network Construction of Rural Godowns and Development of Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure. Grading and StandardizationThe Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937 empowers the Government to fix quality standards, known as AGMARK standards and to prescribe terms and conditions for using the seal of AGMARK. So far, grade standards have been notified for 182 agricultural and allied commodities. The purity standards under the provision of the Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) Act, 1954 and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act, 1986 are invariably taken into consideration while framing the grade standards. International Standards framed by Codex/International Standards Organisation (ISO) are also considered so that Indian produce can compete in the international market.

During the year 2005-06, the final notification of Spices G & M Rules, 2005 is published, containing standards of eleven spices, namely, large Cardamom, Cardamom, Turmeric, Chillies, Ginger, Black Pepper, Coriander, Fennel, Fenugreek, Celery, Cumin, etc. The standards of Walnut duly harmonised with the international standards have been submitted to APEDA and were discussed in the Core Groups Meeting. The approval of Standing Committee on fresh Fruits and Vegetables is awaited for commodities like Lemons, Limes, Mandarins, Oranges, Grape Fruits, Walnuts in-shell and Walnut shelled. The final notifications published in the Gazette during the last three years have been uploaded on website www.agmarknet.in for users.

National Institue Of Agricultural MarketingThe National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM) started functioning at Jaipur (Rajasthan) from 8 August 1988. NIAM has been imparting training to senior and middle level executives of agricultural and horticultural departments, Agro Industries, Corporations, State Marketing Boards, Agricultural Produce Market Committees and Apex level Cooperatives, Commodity Boards, export houses recognised by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Agency (APEDA), Commercial Banks and non-governmental organizations. Besides these clients, the NIAM also imparts training to farmers on marketing management. The main objectives of NIAM are : To provide specialized training in agricultural marketing designed to develop leadership potential in the management of agricultural marketing enterprises and services To undertake research in agricultural marketing for Government, Cooperative and other Institutes, both on public funding and by contract To undertake appraisal of markets/marketing projects for approval and financial support by the Central Government, on consultancy basis To formulate objective criteria for selective development of physical markets and to evolve a practical methodology for the application of such criteria in their planning To offer advisory and consultant services on marketing policies, investment programmes and marketing development strategies and specific advice to marketing enterprises (State, Private and Cooperatives) To survey, study and analyze the rural market management and to examine in depth the principal and practice of market regulation as a development sector in the agricultural economy. The NIAM is managed by a Governing Body under the Chairmanship of Minister of Agriculture and an Executive Committee under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation.

Training ActivitiesThe Institute organises Training Programmes for officials, farmers and other functionaries. In 2003-04 Management Development Programmes (MDP) were introduced. So far four MDPs have been successfully organised for leading companies like Bayer Crop Science, MICO BOSCH, etc. The MDPs were held at NIAM campus and 120 working executives of these MNCs working in various capacities have been benefited from this programme. All these MDPs were rated excellent by the participants and many other companies have shown keen interest in organising MDPs at NIAM, Jaipur.

ResearchThe domestic Agricultural Marketing scenario has witnessed lot of changes in policies and regulations. The enactment of Model Act by some States have brought substantial improvements in trade and marketing. Following Research studies are being conducted by NIAM during the year 2005-06. Contract Farming prospects and implications Commodity Trade Research Market led extension a participatory approach Developing India GAP Standards Information need assessment of stakeholders in Agricultural Marketing A case of Rajasthan Project FormulationIn order to generate resources and ensure optimum utilisation of the expertise of the NIAM faculty, the Institute is taking up several Consultancy Projects in the year 2005-06. These include setting up Modern Terminal Market for fruits and vegetables at Nasik, Chandigarh, Nagpur, Patna, Bhopal, Rai (Haryana), Multi-utility integrated facility Centre-Pack house at Ludhiana for MARKFED, Punjab, State Master Plan for Market Development in Orissa, Price Forecasting for Agricultural Commodity in Karnataka, On-line Market information system for Karnataka, Designing, Planning and detailed Project report for CA Storage at Kolkata. Detailed Project Reports have been prepared for the Modern Terminal Markets at Nashik, Nagpur, Chandigarh, Bhopal and Rai (Haryana).

Post Garduate Programme in Agri-Business Managment (PGPABM)The Institute has undertaken Post-Graduate Programme in Agri-Business Management (PGPABM) as a Sub-centre of MANAGE, Hyderabad from July 2001 and 50 students are presently undergoing Post-Graduate Programme in Agri-Business. The programme is designed to assist agricultural graduates to acquire the critical know-how to compete in the domestic and global business arena and to make them efficient agri-business managers.

Small Farmers Agri-Business ConsortiumThe Small Farmers Agri-business Consortium (SFAC) was registered by Department of Agriculture and Cooperation as a Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 on 18 January 1994. Members at present include RBI, SBI, IDBI, EXIM Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, NABARD, Canara Bank, NAFED, United Phosphorous Ltd., etc.

The SAFC is managed by a Board of Managers consisting of 20 members and chaired by Honble Union Minister of Agriculture as its Ex-Officio President and the Secretary (Department of Agriculture and Cooperation), Government of India as its Ex-Officio Vice President. Managing Director is the Chief Executive of SFAC. SFAC has established 18 State level SFACs by contributing a corpus fund. The mission of the Society is to support innovative ideas for generating income and employment in rural areas by promoting private investments in agribusiness projects.

The Central sector scheme for agri-business development implemented by SFAC was approved by the Government on 19 July 2005 for implementation during remaining period of the Tenth Plan with an outlay of Rs 48 crore. The scheme is being implemented by SFAC in close association with commercial banks for providing Venture Capital Assistance to agribusiness projects and Assist farmer/producer groups in preparation of quality Detailed Project Reports (DPR).The main objectives of the scheme are to facilitate setting up of agribusiness ventures in participation with banks, catalyse private investment in setting up of agribusiness projects and thereby providing assured market to producers for increasing rural income and employment, strengthen backward linkages of agri-business projects with producers, assist farmers, producer groups, and agriculture graduates to enhance their participation in value chain through project development facility, arrange training and visits, etc., of agripreneurs setting up identified agribusiness projects. SFAC provides financial assistance to agribusiness projects by way of equity participation.The quantum of SFAC venture capital assistance depended on the project cost and will be the lowest of the following: 10 % of the total project cost assessed by the bank 26 % of the project equity Rs 75 lakhHigher venture capital assistance can be considered by SFAC to deserving projects on merit and/or to projects that are located in remote and backward areas, North-eastern and hilly States and projects recommended by State agencies.The outlay for implementation of the scheme during 20052006 was Rs. 10 crore which has been utilised. During the year venture capital assistance has been sanctioned to 44 agribusiness projects and assistance has been provided for preparation of 11 Detailed Project Reports (DPRs). The allocation for implementation of the scheme during 2006-07 is Rs. 38 crore.Corporates in AgricultureAgriculture -- across the expanse of India -- is heralding the country's second Green Revolution. Fourteen states, including Maharashtra, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan amended the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act this year, along the lines of the Model APMC Act, '02, which allows farmers to sell their produce directly to buyers offering them the best price. And, agriculture sectors such as horticulture, floriculture, development of seeds, animal husbandry,aqua culture, cultivation of vegetables, mushroom under cultivated conditions and services related to agro and allied sectors are open to 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) through the automatic route.

According to Economic Survey 2006-07 : Agricultural growth is pegged at 2.7 % Total food grains production in 2006-07 estimated at 209.2 metric tonnes (MT). Total water availability in reservoirs up 10 per cent to 120.2 billion cubic meters (BCM) at the end of monsoon 2006. Fishing, aquaculture and allied activities made for 5.3 % of the agricultural gross domestic product (GDP). Production of wheat and other rabi crops brightened with welcome rain in February 2007 -- sugarcane, cotton, and jute to set new records.Already it is one of the most important sectors of the economy contributing 18.5 per cent of national income, about 15 per cent of total exports and supporting two-thirds of the work force. And with recent developments, it is going to play a more dynamic role in the economy.

Corporate InterestIncreasingly a number of players in the private sector have evinced a keen interest to tap the potential of Indian agriculture. A number of corporates have entered into a direct agreement with farmers to grow specific crops. Cadbury India Ltd and the Tamil Nadu Horticulture Department have entered into an agreement to promote cocoa farming in 50,000 acres as an intercrop through a contract farming and buyback arrangement with coconut farmers, providing an additional income of US$ 19.77 million a year to farmers. The US$ 4.5-billion Mahindra Group intends to tap Punjabs agriculture potential by taking up potato seed development in the state through contract farming. The company will provide technical know-how and extension services to the farmers for producing high quality potato seeds. Himalaya Drugs plans to associate with small and marginal farmers across southern Indian states including Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka for sourcing at least 70% of its herbs (the core ingredients in herbal drugs) in the next three to four years. It has identified over 1,500 farmers in the south and currently, about 70 per cent is cultivated by the company and 30 per cent is through contract farming. With a US$ 5.6 billion, multi-year investment in agriculture and retail, Reliance Retail is in the process of establishing links with farms on several thousand acres in Punjab, West Bengal and Maharashtra. Wal-Mart is one of the top two retail companies that source Indian products. In 2006, Wal-Mart directly sourced approximately US$ 600 million in goods from suppliers in India. Agriculture Allied IndustriesRice TransplanterFeaturesThe rice transplanter consists of prime mover,transmission, engine, float, lugged wheels,seedling tray, seedling tray shifter, pickup fork and pickup fork cleaner. It is a walk behind type rice transplanter using mat type nursery and it transplants the seedling uniformly without damaging them. The planting depth and hill-to-hill spacing can be adjusted.Automatic depth control helps in maintaining uniform planting depth. The machine has safety clutch mechanism, which prevents break down of planting device from the impact against stones in the field. For operation, the machine is transported to the field and mat type nursery is loaded in the tray of the transplanter. The machine is put in transplanting mode and operated in the puddle field. The performance of the transplanter is checked within 2-3 m of travel for transplanted seedlings for hill-to-hill distance, depth of placement and number of seedling per hill. If the transplanting is in order the machine is operated in normal transplanting operation SpecificationsLength (mm): 2450Width (mm):1480Height (mm):840-950Weight (kg):170Row interval (mm):300Hill-to-hill spacing (mm)117/131/147Power Requirement (hp):3.7, petrol engineUsesIt is used for transplanting of mat type rice seedlings

Hay Balerhay baler, farm machine that packs and ties (or wraps in plastic) field-dried hay into bundles, called bales, for convenient handling, storage, and shipping. It ordinarily picks up hay that has been raked into rows (see rake)and packs and ties it into round or rectangular bales to be picked up by truck. Some modern balers include automatic stacking or loading devices. Very large bales are often stored in the field and moved with front-end loaders.

Harvesting ReperHarvesting Reper is any farm machine that cuts grain. Early reapers simply cut the crop and dropped it unbound, but modern machines include harvesters, combines, and binders, which also perform other harvesting operations.Harvesting Repear binds the grain crops in single operation.The grain crops are wheat,paddy,oats,barely.It's capacity is 1 acre per hour and its cutting width is 4 feet and height of cut is 5 to 7 cm in which fuel consumption is 1 to 1.25 Lt. per hour and engine is 11hp diesel air cooled.

Rubber CrawlersRubber crawlers are widely used as the driving system for farm and industrial machinery on account of their high mobility and traction on uneven terrain. A rubber crawler is composed of lugs, core bar, and some other materials. Due to the sectional form and the particular components of a rubber crawler, dynamic spring constant and the viscous damping coefficient vary periodically between the two lugs when the track rollers come into contact with the surface of the rubber crawler. Therefore, mechanical vibration of rubber crawler vehicles is larger than those on wheel-driven vehicles. In particular, it is necessary to reduce the amount of vibration when driving a rubber crawler on a road surface. Therefore, in this study, we have developed mechanical mode, which predicts vibration characteristics of agricultural rubber crawler vehicles the in order to construct analytical design principles. Hay Baler Rice Transplanter Harvesting Reaper Combine Harvestor and their parts i.e. Rubber Crawlers, Knife, Section Strips

Agriculture Cooperatives Various development activities in agriculture, small industry marketing and processing, distribution and supplies are now carried on through co-operatives. the co-operatives in the State have made an all-round progress and their role in, and contribution to agricultural progress has particularly been significant. The schemes regarding the construction of godowns and the conversion of villages into model villages have assumed great importance in the wake of the Greeen Revolution.

The Co-operative Movement was introduced into India by the Government as the only method by which the farmers could overcome their burden of debt and keep them away from the clutches of the money-lenders. The Co-operative Credit Societies Act, 1904 was passed by the Government of India and rural credit societies were formed . Through the appointment of registrars and through vigorous propaganda, the Government attempted to popularize the Movement in the rural areas. Within a short period, the Government realized some of the shortcomings of the 1904 Act and, therefore, passed a more comprehensive Act, known as the Co-operative Societies Act of 1912. This Act recognized non-credit societies also. But the rural credit societies have continued to be predominant till now.

The Primary Agricultural Credit/Service Societies The agricultural co-operative credit structure in the Punjab State is broadly divided into two sectors, one dealing with the short-terms and medium-terms finance and the other with the long-term credit. In the State, the short-term and medium-term credit structure is based on a three-tier system, i.e., the Apex Co-operative Bank at the State level, the Central Co-Coperative Bank at the district/tehsil level and the Primary Agricultural Credit Societies at the village level. The major objectives of the primary agricultural credit service societies are to supply agricultural credit to meet the requirements of funds for agricultural production, the distribution of essential consumer commodities, the provision of storage and marketing facilities and for light agricultural implements and machinery. Organic CultivationOrganic Cultivation is a type of farming that does not involve usage of chemicals like chemical fertilizers and pesticides. In recent years, organic agriculture has gained considerable importance. Major shift has been observed in the farming culture, due to which several farmers have begun practicing this traditional method of cultivation. The reason being, organic cultivation is proven as the means to produce safe foodstuffs and preserve the environment. But even today, numerous small farmers have been practicing organic farming, but are unable to reap its benefits.

The spices and other food stuffs produced from this type of farming are certainly without any harmful ingredients. We, at Sunrise Spices practice this type of farming to product best quality spices.

How is Organic Cultivation different from General Cultivation?Multitudes of benefits are associated with the organic cultivation. Beside being one of the traditional methods of farming, this type of cultivation is also considered to be better than the general cultivation. Many facts are associated with this conclusion, one being the organic fertilizers are carbon based compounds that increase the productivity of plants.

The organic cultivation have various benefits over general cultivation, some of which are underlined below :

Non-toxic spices : By using organic fertilizers in our farming unit, the spices produced are free of harmful chemicals. As a result, end-consumers who use these spices in their food items will be less prone to diseases such as cancer, heart stroke and skin disorders, as compared to those who consume the spices produced using chemical fertilizers.

Fertility of soil : Organic cultivation ensures that the farms remain fertile for years. On the contrary, the practice of general or inorganic farming has resulted in infertility of the land, forcing many farmers to increase the chemical fertilizer inputs or leave farming.

Safe environment : Organic fertilizers are easily bio-degradable and do not cause environmental pollution, but chemical fertilizers contaminate land and water. Moreover, the usage of chemical fertilizers can cause varying diseases in human beings and extinction of a number of plant, animal and insect species.

Organic Cultivation ProcessOrganic cultivation involves distinct aspects apart from the addition of organic fertilizers and pesticides. We, at Sunrise Spices adopt distinct steps to cultivate the spices plant.The varying steps are underlined below : Maintaining the quality of soil:Apart from varying inorganic particles, formed from sedimentation of the rock, the soil constitutes organic matter, both living and dead. Moreover, numerous microorganisms are also present in soil, which are essential for the spice plant's healthy growth. Testing the quality of soil: To maintain a healthy soil, we, at Sunrise Spices first test the quality of soil in our in-house soil testing laboratory. Adding essential nutrients: Thereafter, appropriate nutrients are added in the soil. These nutrients are essential for the spice plant growth. Organic fertilizers are added in the cultivation as per the testing done in the soil testing laboratory. Inorganic nutrients such as lava sand, basalt, etc., are also added, at times. Apart from these, several other organic matter such as molasses or dried grass is added to maintain moisture in the soil. Tilling: Machine tilling is done on the soil after performing the aforementioned steps. At time, hand spade is also used for this purpose, as it retains the soil structure. Sowing: After these steps, organic seeds for sowing are used in our spice cultivation. Controlling pests and diseases:The pests and diseases are controlled in the organic cultivation by using organic fungicides, insecticides, and pesticides. Pests are controlled with the help of trap crops and the bugs are controlled with the help of frogs, toads, etc. Controlling the weeds:Organic herbicides are used by us for controlling weeds. The weeds are also controlled by mulching process, which is piling up organic matter such as dry grass and leaves on the soil surface. This practice suppresses the growth of weeds.

Benefits of Organic Cultivation High premium:Spices produced from organic cultivation are premium in quality that the conventional spices. Low investment:Organic farming does not involve heavy capital investment as required in chemical farming. The yearly costs incurred by practicing this type of farming are also low. Further most of the small farmers are dependent on natural rain for water. Less dependence on money lenders:The practicer of this form of cultivation are less dependent on the money lenders. As compared to the chemical inputs, which are very costly, the organic fertilizers do not require huge investment. Synergy with life forms:Organic farming involves synergy with various life forms like plant and animals. With greater understanding of this synergy, it becomes easier for the farmers to implement these farming methods. Traditional knowledge:This types of farming requires abundance of traditional knowledge, which the farmers are well aware of. Moreover, in case of organic farming, the dependence on chemical know-how is not at all required. Trends of Organic CultivationOrganic Cultivation has become one of the popular methods of farming, in the recent times. This trend is exhibited from the world wide demand of the organic spices and other food products.

World demand for Organic FoodsThe global demand for organically produced spices and other food products is growing rapidly in developed countries like Europe, USA, Japan and Australia. Worldwide, food trends are changing with the increasing health concern. As organic foods & spices are free from chemical contaminants, the demand for these products is steadily increasing to a great extent.

According to the ITC, UNCTAD/GAT, more than 130 countries are engrossed in certified organic foods cultivation, out of which 100 are from Asia and Africa. Internationally, a shift towards traditional / ethnic medicines is an essential factor contributing to the growth of organic cultivation. Since spices form part of many medicines, the demand for organically produced spices is also increasing.

Initiatives taken by Spice Board of India for promoting the production and export of organic spices have widely affected the overall cultivation of the spices in India.The Indian Initiative.Export of organic spices from India started long ago. India, at present exports around 50 tonnes of different varieties of organic spices. Exports of spices have been significantly increased due to the major shift of farming practices to organic methods.

Spices Board India has prepared a comprehensive document on production of organic spices. It includes the organic concepts, principles, basic standards, production guidelines, documentation, inspection and certification related to production methods.

Research programs on organic cultivation form the important part in spice production. The research work is carried out at the Spices Board's Indian Cardamon Research Institute at ldukki district in Kerala.

Organic Cultivation has numerous benefits. According to a research conducted by the Office of Evaluation and Studies (OE), International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), this type of cultivation has many benefits over other forms of cultivation.Some of the benefits of Organic Cultivation are underlined below: