Availing a key horticulture promotion scheme of the government, Gujarat has made the most of it by substantially expanding its area under organic farming.

Under the organic component coverage as part of National Horticulture Mission (NHM), 2047 hectares has been reported across the country in 2010-11, with Gujarat alone accounted for 2000 hectares, an Agriculture Ministry’s monthly review report said.

Chhattisgarh’s share of coverage under organic farming was 45 hectare while the rest 2 hectare was in Kerala, the sources added.

Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm.

It excludes or strictly limits the use of manufactured fertilisers, pesticides (which include herbicides, insecticides and fungicides), plant growth regulators such as hormones, livestock antibiotics, food additives, and genetically modified organisms. Gujarat has been front-runner in usage of funds under NHM scheme.

The NHM progress report for the last year reveal that the state’s expenditure of the central fund under the head was 115 per cent.

Against release of Rs 5,497 crore up to February 2011, Gujarat had spent a sum of Rs 6,351.30 crore, a surplus of Rs 854 crore, the report added.

Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh also saw impressive performance under the scheme.

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