Tibetans Participate in Int'l Organic Expo in Bangalore

Tibetans at the BioFach International Organic Trade Fair in Bangalore

Bangalore: BioFach India together with India Organic was organised for the third time from 10-12 November 2011. International players in the organic sector gather for the first time in Bangalore, the green Garden City and world renowned IT metropolis in the south of India.

Soon after the conclusion of the eighth Tibetan Agriculture Meeting held for three days at Organic Research & Training Centre, Bylakuppe, which was organised by the Central Tibetan Administration's home department, 31 Tibetan participants, representing eight Tibetan agriculture based settlements, including settlement officers, AEO's and progressive farmers from Mundgod and Mr Chhimey Rinzin, head of agriculture division (DoH) and Mr Dawa Tsultrim among others, attended this event in BioFach India 2011 – International trade fair.

Under joint initiatives by Department of Home and Federation of Tibetan Cooperatives in India, exhibition on organic produce by Tibetan organic farmers in India went off successfully. Over 120 producers, including Germany pavilions, Austria and Netherlands pavilions attended the event, showed the visitors what the local and international organic market has to offer in 2011. All those that participated in the event had a rewarding experience.

Biofach trade fairs are regarded as premier events the world over, for promotion of organic products and services. Biofach India, in its 3rd edition, is being held at Bangalore, and bringing in focus on the India organic market. The agriculture in India which is at crossroads is timely poised for the advent of organic products and services. The rapid rise in organic cultivators and consumers in India is a manifestation of the change for the better they are seeking. Considering India as the potential consumers, it provides the perfect platform for promoting such an event.

The three-day organic trade fair and seminar programme, organised by ICCOA (International Competence Center for Organic Agriculture), will have a total of ten sessions in two seminar hall covering various areas viz Policy for organic Sector Development, Govt Support and Private Entrepreneurship, Organic farming technologies research Development and case study presentations, Marketing and its linkages for farmers, Certification, Post harvest techniques and Supply Chain Management. More than 50 renowned International and national speakers like scientist, professor, researcher, entrepreneur have spoken in the session.


Kalon Gyari Dolma (C) with Secretary of Home, Ngodup Dorjee along with
the participants of the 8th Tibetan Agricultural settlement meeting at Bylakuppe
The trade fair was inaugurated by Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda along with Agriculture Minister Umesh V Katti and Horticulture Minister S A Ravindranath.

Speaking on the occasion, the CM said “Organic farming is the only alternative to maintaining sustainability. We have to take steps to prevent further damage to the ecosystem and increase our productivity.”

“The government has allotted Rs 200 crore for organic farming sector. Karnataka today has about 76,000 hectares of certified organic farming land,” he added. “We are showcasing our new products. This is a very good venue to showcase our products to farmers,” said Balasubramanian,CEO, Sresta Natural Bio products. The first day saw many farmers thronging the venue to gather information about organic farming. Many visitors wanted to find out details about some specific products.

Both state institutions and private initiatives in India are endeavoring to meet the rising worldwide demand for organic raw materials at B2B level and at the same time satisfy the consumers’ growing desire for organic food in the local shops. The government has ambitious plans. For example, the growing area is to be expanded to 5million ha in the coming years, and 2million ha are already envisaged by 2012. Experts from the Indian Morarka Foundation estimate the current domestic market at a respectable 543 million US dollars.

All the participants from Tibetan are inspired and motivated from this International organic Trade fair and seminar. More importantly, from over 165 stall booths with organic exhibitors from 22 Indian States, Germany, Austria, Netherlands and from other parts of the world, our Tibetan organic stalls were selected as the second best and conferred mementos price by Karnataka Agriculture Minister during valedictory function and 1st position in individual stall booth was given to Morarka, a private organic company dealing with organic foods, vegetables and textile. The reason for getting this award to Tibetan organic stall booths is due to the ambience and interior décor which created a feeling of Tibetaness to the juries from BioFach India Organic. The recognition received is a great boost to our morale. We are sure that with such impetus, Tibetan organic movement and adoption of organic farming policy will go a long way.

The growing number of states in India declaring their intention to go 100% organic and earmarking huge amount of money for organic bears testimony to the fact that organic is receiving due recognition and importance in India. (We also came to know that 10 Indian States namely, Sikkim, Mizoram, Nagaland, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, kerala, Maharastra, Andra Pradesh , Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh have drafted and defined organic agriculture policies, first four states in the list have also declared their intention to go 100% organic. Government of Sikkim has already earmarked the year 2015 as the year for achieving conversion of more than 50000 ha area to organic , accounting for nearly two third of the total cultivable area of the State. Government of Karnataka has also launched an Organic Farming Mission to address the requirement of organic farming promotion under Mission mode. Recently Government of Bihar has earmarked Rs. 255 crore and launched specific strategies for the development of organic agriculture sector in Bihar over a period of four year.)

Tibetan agriculture settlement based at Karnataka State can avail benefit from Karnataka State Government Organic Farming Mission scheme, provided CTA and respective settlements jointly approach the State Government.