Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling on Wednesday reiterated that organic farming is a mission of the State Government to ensure monopoly of the Sikkimese farmers in the local and outside markets.
“Sikkim is the only State in the country and world which is an organic State, which means that there is no dearth of markets for our organic produce. We have no competition,” he said while addressing a gathering of Chakung-Soreng constituency at Soreng ground during his second day of West Sikkim tour.
The second phase of the organic farming mission, as the Chief Minister explained, was to first cultivate enough vegetables that can meet the State’s requirements.
“Our people must now increase production of vegetables and not keep their lands fallow,” he said, adding that import of non-organic vegetables has been banned by the State Government.
He also said that the State Government would, for a period of five years, provide subsidy in transportation of organic vegetables from villages to the markets.
“We are providing vehicles to each constituency so that vegetables from the rural areas can be transported to the markets in urban areas,” he said.
“We are also appointing marketing assistants in each GPU for taking the vegetables from the villages to the towns. The next phase planned by the State Government is to make Sikkim self-reliant in food grains within next five years,” he added.
“Let us strive to produce our own food grains. This will mean that our money will be retained within our own State and will not go outside. This is self-reliance in true sense when we become independent in food grain production,” Chamling further said.