Uttarakhand - Department of Land Resources

plants and their trade in the state. Medicinal and aromatic plants can be a strong option
for diversification but linkages with the market should be developed.
Organic farming: Yield levels can be effectively raised in a stable and sustainable
manner only by adopting organic farming methods, since extensive use of chemical
fertilizers ultimately leads to soil deterioration. As per statistics, the use of fertilizers in
the hill districts is very low. In Uttarakhand around 10,000 ha land is under organic
farming, covering over 15,000 farmers and 45 crops. The key objective of diversifying
towards organic farming is to improve crop productivity, soil health and the price of the
output, and thus the income of the farmers. Organic products have a parallel market
which, if captured in a strategic manner, can lead to the rapid development of these hill
districts.
The hill regions are disconnected from the plains due to a poor road network and, thus,
fertilizers is limited and expensive. This has increased the number of organic activities
and farmers growing organic produce. Uttarakhand is the first state of the country to be
declared an organic state. Due to this, a great need was felt to constitute an
organization to promote and coordinate dispersed organic activities and efforts for
organic farming in the state. The Uttarakhand Organic Commodity Board (UOCB) came
into existence. The role of the Board is to promote organic farming in the state and to
provide options in diversifying towards organic farming. Training in organic food
processing and value addition has been imparted to the producer groups, but lack of
infrastructural facilities is a major constraint. It is necessary to integrate the farmers to
generate surplus for exports, but the physical geography of the hill villages makes this
difficult. Another issue that emerges in marketing and making agriculture a commercial
venture is branding the products so that they can be sold globally.
STATUS OF FORESTS
The recorded forest area of the State is 34,662 km 2 , which constitutes 64.79% of its
geographic area. By legal status, Reserved Forests Constitute, 71.08% Protected
Forest 28.51% and unclassed Forests 0.41% of the total area.
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