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Sikkim Becomes The First 100% Organic State In The World; Wins Future Policy Award 2018

Sikkim Becomes The First 100% Organic State In The World; Wins Future Policy Award 2018

Wednesday, October 17, 2018 IST

India’s north-eastern stateof Sikkim has won the award for the being the “100 per cent organic state” that promotes agroecological and sustainable food systems.

The “Oscar for best policies” was conferred by the Food and Agriculture Organisation by beating 51 other nominees from around 25 countries, the Press Trust Of India reported. Sikkim is not only the country's first 100 per cent organic state but also the cleanest state.

Sikkim, the first in the world got the Future Policy Award 2018 for bolstering efforts to attain Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Himalayan state of India was conferred with this honour during the World Food Week at headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, Italy.

The award function every year recognises efforts in different social issues categories like desertification, violence against women and girls, nuclear weapons and pollution of the oceans.

This year’s awards were directed at thwarting chemical use, using crop residues as compost, afforestation and crop rotation to improve the soil quality and protection against pests. Here are some of the policies that Sikkim adopted to bag the golden award:

1) In 2003, Sikkim became India’s first state to officially announce the adoption of organic farming. Organic farming not only ensures long-term sustenance of soil fertility but also the protection of environment and ecology. It also promotes healthy living.

2) Maria-Helena Semedo, Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said that Sikkim's experience shows that "100 per cent organic is no longer a pipe dream but a reality," as quoted by Thomson Reuters Foundation, Rome.

3) In 2003, the state also stopped the import of chemical fertilizers and the cultivable land in Sikkim for the last 15 years is being enriched using organic manure. The entire farmland has been certified as organic land. The state has been lauded for transcending boundaries of cultivation and generating sustainable tourism, employment and education development through these policies.

4) The hundred per cent transition has benefited more than 66,000 farming families and the state’s tourism has grown by 50 per cent between 2014 and 2017, according to local media reports. Sikkim however, had to struggle a lot initially during its transition phase when the government banned the consumption of non-organic agricultural and horticultural items. Soon, a boost in organic farming helped in dealing with the shortage of vegetables in the state.

Agroecological policies from Brazil, Denmark and Quito or Ecuador bagged silver awards. Alexandra Wandel, director of the World Future Council told media, "Sikkim sets an excellent example of how other countries worldwide can successfully upscale agroecology."

Brazil was awarded the second prize for a policy of buying food for school meals from family farms. Denmark shared the prize with Brazil for a successful policy of encouraging people to buy more organic food. Ecuador too gained recognition for boosting urban gardening, the Thomson ReutersFoundation reported.