APEDA refutes unfounded allegations in Organic Cotton Certification

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) under the Department of Commerce does not extend any subsidy to farmers taking up Organic cultivation under the National Programme of Organic Production (NPOP). The figure of Rs 50,000 per hectare and the further wrongly imputed calculations have no basis, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said, refuting the unfounded allegations in Organic Cotton Certification.

The ministry further said the organic certification under NPOP is not limited only to Madhya Pradesh but is spread across 31 States/UTs.

Advertisement

According to the records (as on 19 July 2025), there are 4712 active Organic grower groups covering around 19,29,243 farmers certified by the accredited certification bodies under NPOP.

These grower groups are involved in the production of a wide range of crops, including cereals, pulses, oilseeds, tea, coffee, spices, and not only cotton.

“Thus, the number of Organic grower groups as mentioned in the briefing is incorrect, along with the number of farmers, it is also misleading to infer that all the Organic grower groups of India are based in Madhya Pradesh and are producing only Cotton,” the ministry statement said.

It is pertinent to mention that cotton is covered under NPOP only till the production level. Thereafter, the post production, including ginning, processing etc, is done under private certification.

The ministry said there is a third level of check on the CB by the NAB through APEDA, by undertaking unannounced audits of operators including grower groups (ICS) based on risk assessment/ complaints received, which is conducted by an evaluation committee constituted by the NAB and coordinated by APEDA.

The Commerce Ministry mentioned that in a press briefing by an opposition leader on Saturday, unfounded, unsubstantiated and misleading aspersions are being cast against the Organic Certification programme, the NPOP.

Generalised allegations against a robust regulatory system of the Country for a particular crop/ region/ group of operators only serve to undermine the credibility of legitimate regulatory institutions and the broader organic movement in India, it added.