Empowering Organic Farming in India’s North East
The Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER) is a central sector scheme launched by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Aimed at promoting organic farming in the North Eastern states—Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura The Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER) scheme focuses on developing certified organic production in a value chain mode, linking growers with consumers, and supporting the development of the entire value chain from inputs to market.
🎯 Objectives of MOVCDNER
- Develop Crop-Specific Organic Value Chains: Address gaps in organic crop production, wild crop harvesting, organic livestock management, processing, handling, and marketing.
- Empower Producers: Organize farmers into Farmer Interest Groups (FIGs) and federate them into Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) or companies.
- Promote Sustainable Farming: Transition from conventional/subsistence farming systems to local resource-based, self-sustainable, high-value commercial organic enterprises.
- Develop Organic Clusters: Create commodity-specific commercial organic value chains for production, processing, storage, and marketing.
- Establish Organic Parks/Zones: Set up facilities for collection, aggregation, value addition, processing, storage, and market linkages for specific commodities.
- Brand Development: Develop North Eastern Region (NER) products as brands/labels through brand building and facilitating stronger marketing access under the ownership of growers’ organizations/companies.
- Create State-Specific Lead Agencies: Establish Organic Commodity Boards or Organic Missions for coordinating, monitoring, supporting, and financing the development and operationalization of the entire value chain.
🛠️ Implementation Strategy
The scheme is implemented in a mission mode with a structured approach at both the central and state levels.
- Central Level: Comprises the National Advisory Committee (NAC), Executive Committee (EC), Mission Monitoring Committee (MMC), and Mission Headquarters at the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW).
- State Level: Implemented by the State Level Executive Committee (SLEC) and executed through a designated State Lead Agency, such as an Organic Commodity Board or Organic Mission.
đź’° Financial Assistance and Benefits
Under MOVCDNER, financial assistance is provided to support various components of the organic value chain
- On-Farm Input Production: Assistance for creating infrastructure like liquid manure tanks, NADEP compost tanks, and botanical extracts.
- Off-Farm Inputs: Support for procuring biofertilizers, biopesticides, neem cake, etc.
- Quality Seeds and Planting Material: Subsidies for purchasing quality seeds and planting materials to ensure varietal uniformity.
- Extension Services and Training: Funds for training, handholding, Internal Control System (ICS) management, documentation, and certification.
- Infrastructure Development: Financial support for setting up input delivery centers, agri-machinery custom hiring centers, collection units, grading units, integrated processing units, pack houses, and cold chain components.
- Transportation: Assistance for purchasing refrigerated transport vehicles and setting up pre-cooling/cold stores/ripening chambers.
đź“‹ Eligibility Criteria
Farmers, Farmer Interest Groups (FIGs), Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), and private entrepreneurs in the North Eastern states engaged in organic farming or willing to transition to organic practices are eligible to apply.
đź“ť Application Process
- Proposal Submission: Eligible beneficiaries submit their proposals to the respective State Lead Agency (SLA).
- Evaluation and Recommendation: The SLA evaluates the proposals and forwards them with recommendations to the North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd. (NEDFi) for subsidy processing.
- Sanction and Disbursement: Upon approval, subsidies are disbursed in installments based on project progress and utilization of beneficiary contributions.
đź“„ Required Documents
- Forwarding letter with complete contact details.
- Detailed Project Report (DPR) with item-wise cost details.
- Approved plan/map and civil drawings.
- Invoices for machinery/equipment purchases.
- Land ownership documents.
- Notarized affidavit as per SLA guidelines.
- Registration certificates and legal documents for FPOs/FPCs/FIGs.
