Source: PIB & NCOF
A conference was held with states and other stakeholders in December2019 to discuss the issues related to biofertilizers like increase in production, maintaining quality standards and promoting their use by farmers. Regular training, front line demonstrations are conducted by the National Centre for Organic Farming (NCOF) and Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) to educate farmers on biofertilizers.
National Centre for Organic Farming (NCOF) implements the National Project on Organic Farming (NPOF) which is a continuing central sector scheme since 10th Five Year Plan.
Objectives of the National Centre for Organic Farming (NCOF)
- Promotion of organic farming in the country through technical capacity building of all the stakeholders including human resource development, transfer of technology, promotion and production of quality organic and biological inputs.
- Awareness creation and publicity through print and electronic media.
- To act as nodal quality control laboratory for analysis of biofertilizers and organic fertilizers as per the requirement of Fertilizer Control Order (FCO, 1985).
- Revision of standards and testing protocols keeping in view the advances in research and technology and bringing remaining organic inputs under quality control regime.
- Organic input resource management, technology development through support to research and market development.
- To maintain the National and Regional culture collection bank of biofertilizer, biocontrol, waste decomposer organisms for supply to production units, development & procurement and efficacy evaluation of biofertilizer strains and mother cultures.
- Promotion of Organic Farming through low-cost certification system known as “Participatory Guarantee System”.
- NPOF scheme provides financial assistance through Capital Investment Subsidy Scheme (CISS) for agro-waste compost production units, bio-fertilizers/bio-pesticides production units, development and implementation of a quality control regime, human resource development, etc.
