Why does the export authority control organics?

A vertical garden at the Navdanya farm.

“Organics in India fall under the domain of the export authority--and that's deeply insulting.” Dr. Bhatt’s voice was filled with emotion. “There are good reasons for harmonizing organic standards with the rest of the world, but it’s not just Westerners who have a right to eat healthy, organic food! Indians, even poor Indians, have just as much of a right to eat good food. Rather than growing organics for foreigners—which is what putting organics under the export authority implies—we should be growing organic produce to ensure India’s own nutritional security.”

Organic and sustainable farming is Dr. Bhatt’s expertise and passion. He’s worked closely with Vandana Shiva over the past decades and now helps direct Navdanya, a network of seed keepers and organic farmers in India. I was speaking with Dr. Bhatt at the Navdanya farm, a lush block of fields in which Navdanya staff and volunteers cultivate and store seeds from heirloom varieties of mustard, wheat, millet, and other traditional Indian crops. Farmers also come to Navdanya for workshops on organic farming.

Farmers attending a workshop on organic techniques.

The visit was part of an “organics fellowship” organized by an innovation firm (modeled on IDEO) based near Delhi. The other three fellows—a designer, a filmmaker, and a principal from the innovation firm—and I set out to explore organic food in India from a multidisciplinary perspective. We spoke with retailers, organic and non-organic farmers, experts, and others involved in the organics ecosystem. 

People get into organics for different reasons: The owner of a small retail store, for example, prides herself on the quality of the craft organic products she sells, and on making sure the farmers with whom she works get good, fair prices. She says she’s, “In it for the farmer, not looking to provide cheap organic food to Delhi.” 

Satish, from a much larger-scale operation with a very different mission, gave us a different perspective. He manages the North India purchasing of fresh food for Spar, the world’s largest food retail chain, which recently opened its first hypermarket in Delhi. They stock a variety of organic produce, but find that organics make up far less than 1% of sales. Although Satish sees organic as a growing market, it’s limited by the lack of a year-round supply from certified farmers, and the small base of customers currently aware of organics and willing to pay a 30-300% premium. But with a special area in the wholesale market that would facilitate streamlined connections to certified farmers, he thinks retailers could easily create demand for organic food. 

Navdanya stores seeds from these heirloom crops in a seed bank.

Right now, India has streamlined systems to send organic food abroad, not to sell it domestically. Is it a surprise that more than half the organic food produced in India is exported?

What role should organics play in India? In other emerging or developing economies? If you’re interested in exploring these questions some more, join the other fellows and me for a panel and discussion this Friday at the UnBox design festival in Delhi.