Bala Vikasa to open stalls to sell organic farm produce soon in Warangal

Warangal: With the health consciousness among the people is growing day by day, Bala Vikasa, one of the reputed non-governmental organisations (NGO) in South India, is all set to open its stalls to facilitate the farmers sell their organic produce in Warangal city.

“We are trying to see that sites for setting up the stalls will be allotted to our organisation by the Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC). As a part of this, we have already urged the concerned officials including both the GWMC commissioner and Collectors of Warangal and Hanamkonda districts,” said Executive Director, Bala Vikasa, Singareddy Shoury, adding that they were also planning to open the stalls on their own for the benefit of the members of their organic Farmers’ Producers Organisation (FPO) as well as the consumers if the sites are not allotted to them under the GWMC limits.

He along with Programme Manager, Organic Farming, Bala Vikasa, P Tirupathi, and other members of the NGO inaugurated a three-day Organic Mela on the premises of the University Arts and Science College’s auditorium at Subedari in Hanamkonda on Friday.

Speaking on the occasion, Shoury Reddy said that the Bala Vikasa had been encouraging the sustainable methods of farming including organic farming for the last eight years in the State. “While 1600 farmers are growing the crops including paddy, pulses, millets, groundnut and horticulture crops in 50 villages, 1,000 of them are certified organic farmers. The farmers need to do organic farming for a minimum period of three years to get the certification,” he added.

He, however, lamented over lack of proper support from the government for organic farming as there are no exclusive marketing facilities. The farmers’ produce is being certified by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).

Meanwhile, an organic farmer Bommanapally Ashok Reddy from Keshavapur village in Hasanparthy mandal in Hanamkonda district has urged the State government to provide input subsidy of Rs 10,000 per acre on the lines of ‘Rythu Bandhu’ to the farmers cultivating the crops in organic method to encourage the organic produce which is the need of the hour. “Sikkim is the only State in India which is a ‘100 percent organic’ state. All farming in Sikkim is carried out without the use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, providing access to safer food choices and making agriculture a more environment-friendly activity with the support of both the State and Central government,” Ashok Reddy and claimed that the many hospitals in Sikkim State had been shut after the people residing there had started consuming organic farm produce.

Another farmer Chiluveru Komala of Mylaram village of Rayaparthy mandal said that the government should at least provide them a pair of cows to facilitate them to prepare the natural pesticide and insecticide to protect their crops from the pests. Kaveti Bajjeri from Perumandlagudem village of Inavolu mandal also expressed views similar to Ashok Reddy and Komala, and urged the State government to provide marketing facilities for them to sell their organic produce. Meanwhile, the organisers of the ‘Organic Mela’ said that the people can visit from 7.30 am to 9.30 pm on Saturday and Sunday too. Rice, pulses, vegetables, oils, millets and manures are available at this Mela.

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