The 5th edition of the ‘Women of India National Organic Festival’ was inaugurated by Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, Union Minister for Women and Child Development, at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi today. The Festival celebrates and promotes women entrepreneurs/producers and farmers in the organic field from across India.Speaking at the inauguration of the event, Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi said that this is the 5 th time in the last 4 years that the organic Festival has been successfully organised and every year it has been well received by people with increasing demand for such products by spreading awareness. This is our ministry’s effort to be a part of what can be done to change the world and at the same time empower our Women’.The Minister also encouraged festive gifting with organic products, and encouraged Delhiites too, to adopt this unique gifting idea. Apart from the novelty of it, the Diwali gifts would automatically convey the regard and concern for the good health of one’s near and dear ones, she said. This year’s edition is the largest ever and has a large vegan section as well as food court, the WCD Minister added. The Minister explained that the festival has now expanded to other cities and has already been organized in a big way in Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Chennai. The participants are being encouraged to sell their products on a long term basis on WCD Ministry’s e-marketing portal Mahila-e-Haat, she added.
The festival is From October 26th till November 4th, IGNCA and will be the cultural hub of India’s most varied offerings of organic products from 26 States, ranging from food, wellness, personal care, home improvement, spices, staples, kitchen composters and for the first time ‘The Vegan Project’ and Food Court with cooked-on-site delicacies will also be available. The Festival will have producers and manufacturers of Organic Products from 26 Indian States. Over 500 women entrepreneurs/producers of organic products from Leh to Kanyakumari and from Kohima to Kutch, will come together with their organic products including 1,200 varieties of rice, several varieties of millets, cereals, pulses, spices, chilli chocolates, pumpkin seeds, cookies, pickles, jams, marmalades, chutneys, juices, dry fruits, organic ice creams, ready-to-eat meals and snacks, oils, honey, tea, coffee, mushrooms, herbs, cosmetics, hair care, bath care, skin care, aromatherapy products, solar products, kitchen composters, organic seeds, organic cotton fabrics, linen fabrics, seeds jewellery, fruit wines, handmade papers from cow, rhino and elephant dung, cow dung air purifiers, water hyacinth crafts and other bio products.
Participants from the remotest parts of the country get the opportunity of selling their healthy and wholesome goods to the people of Delhi and surrounding areas.In addition to the organic extravaganza on offer, there will also be cultural performances during the 10-day festival, focusing on folk music and dance. Visitors will be able to enjoy and be a part of soulful Baul music and scintillating performances from the North-East, Punjab and Rajasthan, to name a few.The demand for Indian organic products is constantly increasing worldwide. India exported organic products worth $515 Million in financial year 2017-18. At present, the country is home to more than 8,35,000 organic producers, 699 processors and 669 exporters. It is also home to more than 30% of total number of organic producers (2.7 million) in the world.Overall, the income and savings of a farmer using exclusively organic methods in agriculture increases by over 50% since there is no investment in costly chemical pesticides, fertilizers and preservatives.To encourage more people to be a part of the organic movement, the Ministry changed the venue for the 2018 edition to IGNCA and has kept the Entry and Parking Free for All.