In order to tap the enormous potential of organic farming in the North East, the three-day event ‘Expo ONE: Organic North East 2023’ was held in Guwahati, from Feb 3rd to Feb 5th. The primary goal behind Expo ONE was to showcase the contribution of North Eastern states and their yet-to-explore potential in the organic sector from a business perspective.
Organized by the Apex Marketing Co-operative Society, Sikkim State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation Limited (SIMFED), Government of Sikkim, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, Government of Assam, the fair had leading brands from agribusiness, besides B2B meetings, B2C events, an international conference, farmers' workshop, attended by domestic buyers to international delegations.
“This year is expected to bring about a change in the field of organic agriculture,” starts Dr. Shailendra Pratap Singh, Senior Agricultural Scientist, ICL, while addressing the gathering at the event. Adding further, he says, “The company provides high-functioning plant nutrients to farmers, producers, and manufacturers in five continents. The range includes potash, polysulfate, phosphatic fertilizers, phosphoric acid, phosphate rock, and tailor-made compound fertilizers, to mention a few.”
Working with ICL Fertilizers, one of the largest fertilizer companies in the world, and the only manufacturer in the world to excavate Polyhalite and market it as Polysulphate worldwide, Dr. Shailendra informs that Polyhalite is a natural, multi-nutrient mineral fertilizer that contains sulfur, potassium, magnesium, and calcium which come from Polyhalite rocks, deposited 260 million years ago over 1000m below the North Sea of the North Yorkshire coast in the UK.
Sharing further, he says that since it is produced by simply mining, crushing, and screening without the application of any additional chemical or industrial process, as a result, it has the lowest carbon footprint in its production compared to other alternatives and is approved for use in organic farming.
Polyhalite: A Boost To Organic Farming?
ICL has an agreement with Indian Potash Limited (IPL), an India-based fertilizer company, to supply Polysulphate which is marketed by Indian Potash Limited as IPL Dihydrate Polyhalite in India. It imports, operates, promotes, and market potash fertilizers in India.
Here’re some of the benefits:
-
Polyhalite is a naturally occurring mineral fertilizer and is recommended to apply it to the soil for the production of all crops.
-
It is a versatile product, suitable for all types of crops and all types of soil.
-
Its pH is neutral and the salinity index is very low.
-
Polysulphate fertilizer has been approved by the world's major certification body and is a boost for the product.
-
Polyhalite is a great help for farmers in many regions who produce quality fruits, vegetables, and other crops.
-
It is an ideal natural source of K,S, Ca & Mg for the sustainable production of fruits, vegetables, oil seeds, grains, pulses, and cash crops as well as all the garden crops under organic farming. This is widely available in Assam in North East states and other states of India.
