Sikkim was a kingdom in its own right and became a princely state of the British Empire in 1890. After the Indians ousted the British Empire, Sikkim signed a treaty with independent India and became India's protectorate. After the people deposed the monarchy India took control of the state and it became a part of India through a referendum in 1975. It is the only state to have borders with three neighboring countries and also has the third highest mountain in the world, Mt Kangchandzonga. However its most impressive feat has to be the fact that on 2016 it was declared the first organic state of India. However this feat was not easily achieved by Sikkim and it stands as an example of what can be achieved when a community plans for the future in the present.
Sikkim started its journey to organic farming back in 2005 with the ban of imports on chemical fertilizers. Thus it was a long journey that Sikkim planned to undertake and was invested in. The development of organic farming in Sikkim was the brainchild of former Chief Minister Shri Pawan Chamling. He saw that Sikkim is heavily engaged in agriculture with 60% of the population engaged in agricultural activities. However it only contributed 8% to the economy of the State with only 10 % of the land being fit for agriculture. Thus organic farming would be the perfect solution to increase the profits from the agricultural sector and improve the land and economy of the state while improving the lives of 60% of the population.
The first hurdle in the step was of course convincing the people of the state to undertake the project and have faith that the fruits of their labor would come. As initially it would be a difficult time for the people. Switching from chemical to organic fertilizers would be expensive and organic farming also required special techniques and more attention to detail in cultivation. The cost of farming would also increase as the materials and equipment required for organic farming is costlier than conventional farming. Thus the idea was largely unpopular in the beginning and thus the Sikkim govt engaged in awareness programs across the state.
These awareness programs were aimed at informing the public of the long term benefits of going organic. Organic farming is much more sustainable than conventional farming and it results in a much higher fertility of the soil. It also improves the underground water table thus making irrigation easier. It also decreases the contamination of the soil and water through industrial pesticides and fertilizers. The commercial aspect was also explained in which although productivity of the land decreases by 10% during conversion to organic farming, profits from the land increase by 140% due to the premium price organic products fetch on the market. Thus with such awareness and orientation programs the people were brought on board and trained.
From 2008 onwards the Government decreased the subsidies on chemical fertilizers at 10% every year culminating in a total ban of chemical fertilizers on 2014. If even a bad of chemical fertilizers were found one could be imprisoned for 3 months or fined up to 1 lakh. The Government simultaneously increased subsidies on organic fertilizers and set up production houses of compost manure and farm yard manure to meet with the demands. Imports of foreign organic fertilizers were discouraged to stimulate indigenous economies.
The next big hurdle was the certification of the farms as organic. The certifications are governed by the National Programme for Organic Production and the cost of these certifications are quite expensive. The tests and surveys done are also very rigorous. The Government of Sikkim thus helped the farmers obtain these certifications spending almost 66 crores on certifications and aids for surveys.
On the commercial aspect too, Sikkim did not lag behind. It established a single house from which all products from Sikkim would be sold known as "Sikkim Organic". This discouraged competition among growers and made it possible to collectively brand all products from Sikkim under one brand identity that they could promote. This created numerous benefits such as newer products had the brand recall value of the collective brand and that individual producers and sellers did not need to invest in marketing. The brand of Sikkim Organic was also marketed very well with premium packaging and made sure that it was always sold next to expensive products. This strengthened the brand name and the Government was able to reach larger and bigger markets.
This allowed the Sikkim Government to penetrate foreign and export markets thereby further increasing the profitability of the venture. It worked closely with the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) to establish relations and contracts with foreign buyers. This was done by organizing field visits to the organic farms and buyer seller meetups so that the new customers could be assured of the quality and claims of the industry. This led to Sikkim bagging major contracts from foreign buyers which drastically increased their profits. Their exports rose from 2.52 million dollars in 2016-17 to 17.2 million dollars in 2021-22.
Today, Sikkim sees the steepest decline in poverty and the largest increase in Gross Domestic Product from agriculture at 22% compared to 2nd place Punjab at 13%. It has the highest SDP per capita at ₹ 4.2 Lakh per capita compared to Gujurat at ₹ 2.12 Lakh per capita. It has had a growth of 1670% in Gross State Domestic Product from 2004 to 2012. Almost 66,000 families have benefited from the Sikkim Organic revolution. It truly stands as a testament of what can be achieved when you work with the Government and not against it.
Written by Ariyaan Moktan
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