JKTPO, Invest India (DPIIT) organised Organic Certification program for Kishtwar Saffron Growers under ODOP initiative

KISHTWAR, April 20: Jammu and Kashmir Trade Promotion Organisation (JKTPO) under the guidance of Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce, Prashant Goyal  and under supervision of Managing Director JKTPO , Khalid Jahangir, organised the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) Awareness Drive for organic certification of Saffron, ODOP product of Kishtwar District in collaboration with Invest India (One District One Product) team, DPIIT, Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry at District office complex here.

The workshop organised with the vision to provide training and certification to farmers who are already pursuing organic farming but don’t have the necessary certification for their products authenticity.

This workshop is one of the initiatives of JKTPO for the promotion of ODOP products in Jammu and Kashmir which includes conduction of Buyer Seller meets, participation in national and international trade fairs/ exhibitions and capacity building programs. The drive will increase the export potential of saffron as organic certified products have huge international market.

National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) under Ministry of Commerce & Industries, Government of India involves accreditation of Certification Bodies, standards for organic production, promotion of organic farming and marketing etc. The NPOP standards for production and accreditation system have been recognized by European Commission and Switzerland for unprocessed plant products as equivalent to their country standards. With these recognitions, Indian organic products duly certified by the accredited certification bodies of India are accepted by the importing countries.

This was the second National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) Awareness Drive after Pulwama for organic certification of Saffron organized by JKTPO. The workshop was attended by more than 45 saffron producers of Kishtwar district, and more farmers will come under organic certification.  .

On this occasion, Saffron Development Officer, Kishtwar, said: “there is a huge demand of Kishtwar saffron in India and abroad due to its unique aroma and flavour but farmers are not getting good prices due to less marketing linkages. This organic certification of Saffron will boost the demand of saffron and will help to increase the income of farmers.”