'Organic farming not sustainable yet but Sikkim govt not to deviate from its policy'

Organic food production is not economically sustainable at present in the state and even middle-class consumers are not able to afford it but the new government will not "deviate" from its policy of promoting fully organic, said the state's lone Lok Sabha member Indra Hang Subba.

The state will converge its policy with research in organic farming that can help boost production to make the village economy sustainable here, he added.

Sikkim was in January 2016 declared as fully organic state though it heavily depends on markets in neighbouring states like West Bengal for supply of cereals, vegetables, pulses, poultry products and fruits to meet domestic consumption.

"Organic farming is not a myth, it has been implemented. We will continue to support organic farming and will not deviate from this policy," Subba told PTI in an interview.

Whatever cultivation is being done in the state is fully organic. Farmers are not using fertilisers and chemicals. "But, we have not been able to produce enough to sustain a village economy," he said adding that since the volume of production is low, it is priced at a higher rate making it expensive for middle-class people.

As a result, most people in the state are forced to buy non-organic products imported from neighbouring states, he noted.

Asserting that the state government will address these gaps, Subba said: "We will try our best to converge our policy with research and other means so that production increases and becomes economically sustainable and achieve higher export of organic products."