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APEDA keen to promote Sikkim’s organic model to rest of India.
Oct 19, 2022

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) would like to take Sikkim’s organic model to other parts of the country, said Dr. M. Angamuthu, chairman, APEDA at a one-day International Buyer Seller Meet (IBSM) held in Gangtok today.

The global buyer-seller meet is a part of APEDA’s robust strategy to promote the export of indigenous and locally grown organic agricultural and horticultural products from the northeastern region.

The meet was held in association with the state Agriculture Department to showcase a variety of agricultural products, including exotic fruits and vegetables, grown in landlocked Sikkim to the world market.

The exclusive BSM will provide an opportunity to the producers and processors of Sikkim to showcase their products and promote the exports as well as their wholesale and retail sales.

Sikkim is the first 100 percent organic state in the world and has a huge agricultural potential as the state is one of the hot-spot in the Eastern Himalayas.

APEDA chairman M. Angamuthu said, 'We all know Sikkim is a leader in organic products. We want to promote Sikkim’s purest form of organic in the country as well as across the globe in the days to come. Let us work together and promote Sikkim as the choicest and finest destinations in terms of horticulture, value-added organic products and other range of products where we have a competitive and comparative advantage.'

'Sikkim can set an example in the Indian organic market as we want to take the Sikkim model in other parts of the country. On the lines of Sikkim, we want to develop Jammu & Kashmir and other Himalayan states, including the northeast region states for organic farming and promote organic agricultural products in the international market,' he said.

The potential crops grown in Sikkim are ginger, large cardamom, Sikkim mandarin, turmeric, orchid, local chillies, aromatic rice, mushroom, and baby corn. Sikkim is well known for producing the highest amount of large cardamom (Amomum sabulatum) in India. The state is also producing a special variety of tea that is known for its taste and quality throughout the world.

At the exclusive buyer-seller meet, ten importers from Oman, Bangladesh, Kuwait, Indonesia, Singapore, and Japan, as well as 15 exporters from across the country participated. Over 50 participants from all eight northeastern states displayed a wide range of their organic agriculture products.

The international buyer-seller meet was inaugurated by Lok Nath Sharma, Minister for Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, Livestock & Veterinary Services.

In his inaugural address, Agriculture Minister L.N. Sharma invited investors to participate in the agricultural growth story of the state.

'Besides cultivable land, the state has a huge bank of barren land. I invite global leaders to invest in the agriculture and dairy sector in Sikkim and take forward the organic brand of the state to the international market,' Sharma said.

Stressing on potential in the dairy sector, the minister said, 'Milk production in Sikkim has increased from 30,000 litres to 60,000 litres in a day. We have set a target to make it one lakh/day and export it to the global market with the help of APEDA.'

Hailing the efforts of APEDA in export promotion, Sharma also sought the intervention of APEDA in playing a key role in showcasing agricultural and horticultural products of Sikkim such as ginger, turmeric, land cardamom, orange, etc to international buyers.

With the intervention of APEDA, which is an export-promotion body under the Ministry of Commerce, there is a tremendous increase in the export of agricultural produce from NE states like Sikkim, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.

Due to the initiatives taken by APEDA, the NE region witnessed an 85.34 percent growth in the export of agricultural products in the last six years as it increased from $2.52 million in 2016-17 to $17.2 million in 2021-22. The major destination of export has been Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Middle East, the UK and Europe.

To provide potential market linkages, APEDA organised field visits of importers to have first-hand information about the qualitative cultivation practices being followed by farmers by inviting the importers from the neighbouring countries, the Middle East, far Eastern countries, European nations and Australia, etc. The field visits were carried out in all eight states of NER.

APEDA organised a national buyer-seller meet in Guwahati on June 24 this year to promote the export of organic products grown in Assam.

APEDA also signed an MoU with Assam Agriculture University, Jorhat to conduct various training programmes on pre-harvest and post-harvest management and other research activities for the promotion of export from the region.

The APEDA promoted GI products from NER like Bhut Jolokia, Assam Lemon, etc drew the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had mentioned it during his Maan Ki Baat programme. Assam Lemon is now exported regularly to London and the Middle East and as of now, more than 50 MT of Assam Lemon has been exported.

Even during the Covid-19 period, APEDA showed no signs of abating and continued to push its export plans through virtual buyer-seller meet in association with the Embassy of India located in different countries with exporters and FPOs/FPCs from NER regarding the sourcing of pineapple, ginger, lemon, orange, etc. APEDA also organised virtual trade fairs during the pandemic and facilitated the export to foreign countries.

APEDA has also planned to undertake several other projects like capacity building of 80 budding entrepreneurs and exporters from the region, the Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) and the state govt. officials, organise skill development and training in food processing, value addition on horticultural produce, etc.

APEDA also extends its support to NER to undertake branding and promotion of northeast products such as KIWI Wine, processed foods, carrying out a wet sampling of Joha Rice Pulao, Black Rice kheer, etc.

As a part of capacity building, APEDA organised skill development programmes for manufacturers, exporters and entrepreneurs to utilise the local produce for value addition and export. Training programmes are being held in different states of the northeast in association with the Central Food Technology Research Institute, Mysore (CFTRI) and Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT), for five days.

APEDA, in association with the Industries and Commerce Department of Assam, organised an export conclave on February 19 last year in Guwahati.

With the APEDA’s intervention, Tripura’s jack fruit was exported to London, and Nagaland’s King Chilli to London through a local exporter for the first time. Also, Assam’s local fruit called Leteku (Burmese Grape) was exported to Dubai and Assam’s Betel leaves have been regularly exported to London.

Tapping the export potential of pork and pork products, APEDA assisted the Assam Govt in setting up a modern pork processing facility at Nazira which has a slaughtering capacity of 400 animals per day. The unit is ready and set to be commissioned soon.

APEDA organised a training programme on the promotion of organic pork export from Sikkim in association with the State Animal Husbandry Department.

APEDA has also developed guidelines for the export of fresh and processed pork with the help of NRC on pigs located at Rani, which is near Guwahati.

In the NER, Sikkim is the first state to have an organic certification agency, which was established in 2016 with the support of APEDA.

APEDA under its Agricultural Export Policy is encouraging states to harness the potential of Agri produce exports. APEDA aims to create a platform for the buyers to get the products directly from the producer group and the processers.

eastmojo.com

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