HAU to house Haryana's first organic certification body

Hisar: The Haryana government has decided to set up the Haryana Organic Certification Agency (HOCA) at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (CCSHAU), Hisar.
"HOCA will start receiving applications from farmers for certification next month. Besides certification, farmers will also be provided with package of practices for organic crops at a cheaper rate," HAU vice-chancellor professor K P Singh said during an interaction with mediapersons on Monday.
Due to the absence of any organic certification in Haryana, organic growers in the state have to get their farm and produce certified from an outside agency. HAU also had to pay a hefty amount to a German agency for certification of its Deen Dayal Upadhyay Centre of Excellence for Organic Farming (DDUCE-OF).
"The process was lengthy and costly. Now, Haryana government has approved the HAU proposal to set up a state-aided organic certification agency.
After HOCA comes into existence, there will be no hurdle in marketing and export of organic produce from Haryana as the agency will also be equipped with a sophisticated testing laboratory for checking pesticide residue and nutrition testing," said Prof Singh.
He said the varsity has initiated the process of getting accreditation for HOCA from the Agriculture Produce Export Development Authority (APEDA), Union ministry of commerce and industry.