India organic -2005: The Achievements
The Organic Trade Fair
The International Competence Centre for Organic Agriculture (ICCOA, www.iccoa.org), along with the Govt. of Karnataka and the Govt. of India through the Agricultural Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) organized a national organic trade fair called India Organic 2005 at Lal Bagh, Bangalore between November 4th to November 7th 2005.
ICCOA was also ably supported by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland (seco) and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), which motivated it to organize this fair with a great deal of professionalism.
The objectives
- India Organic 2005 was planned to achieve the following objectives:
- To create a common platform for buyers, sellers and other stakeholders of the organic market.
- To create and/or improve consumer awareness about organic foods.
- To provide access to different facets of organic farming such as Biodynamic farming, Homa farming, LEISA, natural farming etc. to farmers.
- To create awareness about the proper post harvest technologies, quality control, labeling and packaging among various stakeholders.
- To bring about increased involvement of the Central and State Govt. agencies in the area of organic agri-business.
- To improve India’s market shares in the international organic market
In a nutshell, it is a matter of pride to ICCOA and all its partners in the Indian Organic-2005 that all the objectives listed above were by and large met.
The Achievements of India Organic 2005
ICCOA developed the trade fair as a major activity of the Indian Organic Market Development Project, India Organic Trade Fair is planned to be an annual event.
ICCOA had entered into an MoU with IFOAM, wherein ICCOA becomes the IFOAM Organic Services Center in India; this was formally launched during the inauguration ceremony of the fair on 4 Nov 2005. IFOAM President held an exclusive meeting on 5 Nov 2005 with all stakeholders and described in details the future programs of IFOAM, along with ICCOA for India.
Govt. of Karnataka has decided to send a delegation from the stakeholders in Karnataka to BioFach-2006 at Germany. They also released the Policy for Organic Agriculture in the state on the 4 Nov 2005. Mr. MV Rajashekar, Union Minister of State for Planning inaugurated the fair, which was graced by Mr. Sompal, Former Union Minister for Agriculture, Mr. KS Money, Chairman, APEDA, several ministers from Govt of India, of Karnataka, of Himachal Pradesh (who?), academics, research scholars, entrepreneurs, and others.
After the inauguration, another milestone was achieved by the signing of an MoU between ICCOA, the Govt of Maharashtra, and the Organic Grape Growers Association of Maharashtra. This MoU is for felicitation of cultivation of organic grapes, setting up of an organic vinery, and marketing of organic wine and table quality organic grapes, both in India and abroad. ICCOA shall work closely with the Govt and the Association for building competencies across the entire value chain, from production, certification, processing to final marketing. Successful implementation of this project will open new vistas of export business for the entire country.
The trade fair had overwhelming response. The total number of stalls reached a figure of 170 and still more exhibitors wanted to come in, but could not due to space. Over 30,000 visitors from all over the country visited India Organic 2005 during the four days, giving it a real Pan-India participation and also providing all the sponsors and stall exhibitors value-for-money.
Other than the trade fair and buyers to sellers meets, the Seminar series was also a thumping success. Over 450 delegates attended the seminars, which were held in two separate halls. Over 30 experts addressing various interesting topics on organic agriculture enthralled the audience. The presentations were followed by vigorous question & answer sessions. The proceedings of the seminars will be brought out by ICCOA in due time. The participation was again from all over the country and abroad too, and the response was tremendous.
ICCOA also launched its “Whole meal project”, which talks about providing for all food ingredients as organic to make the entire meal really organic. This concept attracted over 50 people who got them enrolled. This will provide them complete details about market demand and supplies available within the vicinity of a city. It will also provide a bankable project report. And then there was this Trade directory, which again got a lot of interested enquiries; over 1000 visitors already ordered a copy.
India Organic 2005 also sported an organic food court; visitors loved to try out organic cuisines on the menu. Celebrity visitors also graced the fair, among them His Excellency The Ambassador of Switzerland Mr. Dominique Dreyer, His Excellency Governor of Karnataka, Shri TN Chatturvedi, IFOAM President Mr. Gerald Herrmann, Former Prime Minister Mr. Deve Gowda, and others.
Indeed, "India Organic 2005” brought all stakeholders across the country together. The participants included Ministry of Agriculture (through National Centre of Organic Farming, NCOF) and States of Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Assam, Manipur, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttranchal, and many others. Internationally too the visitors were from Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Italy, Austria, Hungary, United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia.
Among the stalls from private companies, good representations from exporters, producer groups, input manufacturers, certifying agencies (all major ones came in), BioFach-World Trade Fair, organic fruit drinks (named "Purity Prayag"), Oorganic retail outlets, an organic bakery (named "Boulanger"), Spices Board and even an eco-tourism venture!! Many of these have joined as sponsors, thus contributing to the brand image, e.g Skal, ITC Ltd, Gopalan Enterprises, Sreshta, among others.
Parallel Events/Side Event around India Organic 2005
A workshop on organic cotton was held for a day to share the experiences from MP, Maharashtra, AP etc. of growing cotton organically, one of the most challenging crops to cultivate organically. Also on the sidelines were cultural events like puppetry or dance dramas in line with organic practices and livelihood in rural villages.
Summary in figures
| India Organic 2005 |
4-7 Nov 2005, Lalbagh, Bangalore |
| Total visitors (4 days) |
over 30000 |
| Trade visitors |
over 1000 |
| Seminar delegates |
over 450 |
| Trade delegates from abroad |
over 40 |
| Buyers sellers meetings |
over 150 |
| Estimated Business enquiries generated |
Rs. 42 crores |
Stall-Exhibitors: 158 stalls * - The entire Spectrum
| Exhibitor Categories |
No. of stalls |
| Producer/Farmers’ groups |
49 |
| Govts/Govt agencies/ Universities |
24 |
| Certification agencies |
6 |
| Research |
6 |
| Exporters |
16 |
| Laboratory |
1 |
| Retail/Marketing |
4 |
| Commodity Boards |
2 |
| Eco-tourism |
1 |
| Processors |
4 |
| Consultancy |
6 |
| Banks |
2 |
| Input suppliers |
27 |
| BioFach - World Organic Trade Fair |
1 |
| International (FAO) |
1 |
Income/Expenditure of IO-2005•
| Total Income |
Rs. 71.24 lakhs (including Rs 10 lakhs from SECO) |
| Total Expenditure |
Rs 72.64 lakhs |
Celebrity speak
His Excellency Ambassador of Switzerland, Mr. Dreyer, “The response India Organic 2005 has generated shows that India is moving fast in the direction of organic agriculture.”
His Excellency Governor of Karnataka,Shri TN Charurvedi said,” I am attracted towards organic food for the taste that is so refreshing and healthy too.”
Former PM Mr. Deve Gowda, “ I am sure such an event will attract more and more farmers towards organic agriculture and encourage them with prospects of strong markets. I wish this endeavor the best.”
And finally our quote, “The trade fair was all about empowerment of farmers, about linking of organic stakeholders and making consumers aware of organic food.”
The team that made it happen
- Ramesh Harve, President, ICCOA
- Dr Tej Partap, Executive Director, ICCOA
- Manoj Kumar Menon, Manager & Event Coordinator
- Ajay Kumar, Manager
- Mahesh Ramakrishnan, Manager
- Suresh KT, Manager
- Lakshmi and Harsha
