There is a good scope for rural educated youth to grab modern agricultural knowledge, and can start their own business in this agri-input sector and provide quality inputs and good agri-technics for sustainable production.

Fertilizer is the 2nd most important input in the agri sector after seed. The source of fertilizer may be organic or in-organic. In India, for fertilizer, seeds and pesticides business you should have proper license to continue the sector. Sometimes due to unavailability of a proper source of information a interested person can’t get a license.

So, here we discuss how to get fertilizer license and what are its basic criteria to avail it.

What are Fertilizers?

Fertilizers are mined or manufactured commercial products which contain one or more plant nutrients in an applicable amount and in a readily usable form. Fertilizers having the advantages of easy in storage, transport and handling. Fertilizers mainly applied through soil application, foliar spray and fertigation methods.

Read: DIFFERENT TYPES OF FERTILIZERS AND THEIR USES

Basic requirements before applying for fertilizer license

Qualification to apply for fertilizer license in India

• a person with possession of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture or chemistry or Diploma in Agriculture Science from a recognised University or Institute or equivalent course having one of the subjects on fertilizer or agri inputs can apply directly for fertilizer license.

• If a person does not have these degrees he/she can do a certain certification course organised by certain institutes /  state agriculture departments to apply for the license. 

• You may contact the local agriculture office to know more about it.

Please follow the govt guidelines in this regard as follows;

Other requirements

• A person should have space for a shop and godown area.

• The space may be owned or leased.

• For wholesaling much godown area is required as compared to retail business.

• The person should have proper PAN, GSTN, Aadhaar, mobile number and bank account, email id before applying for license.

• Now a single window online system is developed by different state govt for applying for seed, fertilizer and pesticides business. I am providing here the link for applying licenses of the Agriculture department, Govt of Odisha. Here you can directly apply for a license. e-License For Agri-inputs (click on it)

• For retail business you need to apply to wholesalers for approval, for wholesale business you need to apply to Manufacturers for approval.

• After online application and providing basic fees, you should contact the local agriculture office to get the license.

• After due verification by the Agri department officers they may issue a license for business.

Point of sale machine for fertilizer business (POS Machine)

• POS machine introduced by govt of India for proper monitoring of fertilizer sales. It is Aadhaar based operation.

• After getting a fertilizer license you should apply in the agri department for availing POS machine.

• You can get application form for POS machine from the department and after filling it submit it to the officers in charge.

• After due verification you can get a POS ID and PIN in your phone number.

• Then show the POS ID to the officer and they may issue you a POS machine to operate your fertilizer business.

• Agri department officers also give you basic training to operate the POS machine smoothly.

• If you possess a wholesale license, you get a separate Mfms ID for online stock monitoring and transferring of stocks to your retailers POS machine.

Maintenance of records

• In your shop you should keep some basic records of your business. 

• You should have a ledger of retail / wholesale business data.

• Fertilizer rate chart, fertilizer license copy, GSTN copy  should be hung on your shop wall.

• Stock position should be maintained in ledger, POS machine and godown. It should be equal.

• Agriculture officers may inspect your shop from time to time.

Some Basic fertilizers marketed in India

• In India farmers generally used prilled and granular fertilizers. They are available generally in 45 kg or 50 kg bags. Examples are Urea, DAP, NPK, Potassic fertilizers.

• Some speciality fertilizers are also marketed like water soluble fertilizers for drip and spray application, micro-nutrients, biofertilizers etc.

Conclusion

Hope this article may guide you to have your business in the agriculture sector. You can start your business with minimum investment and also try to provide the latest agricultural information to the farming community for more and sustainable production.

What is Dragon Fruit

• The dragon fruit is also known as “Pitaya”. It is a cactus species and native to South America.Vietnam is the highest producer in the world.

• Dragon fruit plants are good ornamental plants for home gardening and also produce delicious fruits. 

• The dragon fruit plant is a climbing plant and needs support to climb. 

• The dragon fruit plant sustains well in heat and also thrives well in dry areas with partial sun. The flowers of plants are unique, large, and open only at night and expels an amazing scent at night. 

• The dragon fruits are available in dark red, pink or yellow colors. These fruits have thin skin covered with scales with a tasty red or white pulp in the center. 

• Dragon fruits can be grown from its seeds, cuttings or by purchasing a potted plant from a nursery. 

• Dragon fruits are used in fruit juice, jams, ice creams and wine.

Nutritional value of Dragon fruit

Dragon fruits are a good source of vitamin C, iron, fibers and antioxidants which keeps you healthy and boosts your immune system.

Varieties for Dragon Fruit

Dragon fruits are of mainly two varieties 

1. Stenocereus (sour dragon fruits)  

2. Hylocereus (sweet dragon fruit )

Stenocereus type

These dragon fruits are common fruits in areas of the USA, they have a sour and refreshing taste.

 Hylocereus type

 These dragon fruits are sweet in taste and come in different colors. There are 3 types of sweet dragon fruits.

1. White-fleshed Dragon Fruits or Pitaya Blanca or Hylocereus Undatus: these fruits have pink-skinned fruit with white flesh.

2. Red-Fleshed Dragon Fruits or Pitaya Rosa or HylocereusPolyrhizus: these fruits having red skin with red flesh.

3. Yellow Pitaya/ Yellow Amarilla or Selenicereus Megalanthus or Hylocereus Megalanthus: these are yellow-skinned fruit with white flesh.

Cultivation of Dragon fruit in Garden

( Note: Cultivation of Dragon fruit in Farm land- see below )

Selection of pots for growing Dragon Fruits.

• The Ideal pot size is 15-25 inches in diameter and 10-15 inches in depth.

• Pots should have a good draining system having 2 to 3 drain holes.

• For healthy growth of the plant use pots made of clay that keeps the appropriate temperature of the plant.

• Take a bigger pot for better growth of dragon fruit.

Season for Growing Dragon Fruit in Pots

• Dragon fruit grows well in a tropical climate and can also be grown in subtropical climates.

• Dragon fruits can be planted in winter, spring and summer. Ideal temperature range should be 20 to 30 degrees.

• It thrives well in dry and semi-dry climates.

• The dragon fruit plant can survive short periods of freezing temperatures or frost. But may spoil in longer periods of low temperature.

Suitable Soil for Growing Dragon Fruit

• The dragon fruits grow in well-drained fertile, sandy soil.

• Soil used should be very sandy,  mix equal quantities of garden soil, compost and river sand for better drainage and growth of plant.

• Fill the pot with the mixed soils and allow it to stay overnight before planting.

Propagating Methods of Dragon Fruit 

• The dragon fruits can be propagated by seeds or by cutting. You can buy potted plants from nurseries.

• Propagating the dragon fruits by cutting is easy and grows very fast. Buying potted plants are also recommended.

• Growing dragon fruit plants from its seeds is a time taking process.

Growing Dragon Fruit in Pots from Cuttings

• Growing dragon fruits from its cutting is the best and easiest method for propagating.

• Stems should be cut properly from a healthy mature plant. Use a sharp garden knife to cut the cutting from the plant.

• Length of the cutting should be 5 to 15 inches, collect it  from the plant that produces fruit.

• Cutting should be collected early in the morning.

• Immerse the cuttings in a liquid fungicide for a few minutes and dry it.

• Now place the cuttings in a shady and cool location with good air circulation for 5 to 6 days, this increases the disease resistance in cuttings and also fastens the growth.

• Plant the cuttings about 3-5 inches deep in the pot and keep the soil moist. Keep the pots in a sunny location.

• Dragon fruit cuttings take 5 to 7 weeks to germinate depending on stem cuttings and local climatic conditions.

• Once the cutting forms a root system, feed the plant with balanced organic and liquid fertilizers.

• Give support to the growing plant by wooden rods and wires in the pot.

Watering Requirements for Growing Dragon Fruit

• The dragon fruit plant doesn’t need flooding water. Over watering may cause rotting in the plants.

• Also keep the poles moist.

• The dragon fruit plant can tolerate dryness  for some period, but watering in intervals is recommended.

Sunlight Requirement for Growing Dragon Fruit 

• Dragon fruits love sunlight and thrive well in partial to full sun.

• The leaves of the dragon fruits should be exposed to proper sunlight for fast growing.

• The dragon fruit plant requires 5 to 7 hours of sunlight per day.

• Adequate sunlight fastens the growth of the plant and increases flowering and fruiting.

Pruning Requirement for Growing Dragon Fruit 

• Pruning is done to maintain the compact size of the plant.

• The Dragon fruit plant can grow up to 20 feet height, but if you want to keep a preferred height, just prune the branches.

• Keeping the plant compact size can make the plant stronger and increase the yields.

Pollination Requirement for Growing Dragon Fruit 

• Better pollination in flowers increases the fruits. Most of the varieties of dragon fruit plants are self pollinating, only some varieties need cross-pollination.

• Bees, Moths, bats etc pollinate the dragon fruit plant, or hand pollination can also be done for better pollination.

• For hand pollination, collect the pollen grains from other dragon fruit plants using a cotton swab or smooth brush and then rub the pollen on the stigma of your plant.

• Hand pollination should be done during the night or early in the morning for better results.

• If the plant is flowering and unable to bear fruit this indicates that it is not self-pollinating. Do hand pollination to improve yield.

Pests and Diseases in Growing Dragon Fruit

• Most common pests that trouble dragon fruit plants are mealybug and aphids. These insects suck the sweet sap of the plant and hampers the plant growth.

• Ants are also a major problem, they run upon the plant and sucks the sap.

• Plants are also affected by mites and thrips, these can slow down the growth of the plant.

• Using Neem oil or herbal oil spray or mild soapy water spray can treat these pests. 

• Don’t use commercial organic pesticides on the plant to treat pests.

• Diseases that affect dragon fruit are Dragon Spots, these spots occur on the stems and leaves of the plant due to bacterial infection.This disease can spread easily from plant to plant.

• Use an organic fungicide to treat the diseases in dragon fruits. Watering at the base of the plant without making branches wet can control fungal and bacterial diseases.

• The Plant can be affected with sunburns during the hottest period of summer.

• Plants may suffer from rot due to overwatering. Using well-drained soils  and perforated pots for drainage can protect the plants from rotting.

Harvesting of Dragon Fruit 

• The Dragon fruit plants that grow from seeds take 5 to 6 years to produce fruits.

• The Dragon fruit plant grown from a high yielding cutting takes 1-1.5 years to produce fruits.

• The plant blooms in early summer, mainly in June. 

• The plant bears fruit from July to November. 

• A dragon fruit plant can produce fruit for up to 10-15 years.

• The plant produces fruit after 30 to 50 days after flowering.

• Pick the fruits from the plant when the color of fruit changes from green to red or pink or yellow depending on the variety. It is better to harvest after 4-5 days of color changing. If you are planning to export or planning to store for a long period, pick them on the next day after the color changes.

Cultivation of Dragon fruit in Farm land

• Farmers can cultivate dragon fruit and get good profit.

• Farmers should have prepared a good well drained soil before plantation.

• Take a good plantation variety which should be high yielding and disease pest resistant.

• As this is a cactus plant and needs support to grow, suitable poles are to be installed in the main field.

• Dragon fruit plants can live upto 15 years so concrete poles are more suitable as wooden and iron poles may be damaged quickly.

• Spacing: Row to row 12 ft and pole to pole 6-8 ft in a row.

• An acre can accommodate 450-500 Poles and each pole can have up to 4 plants. An acre can hold anywhere between 1800 – 2000 plants.

• Farmers should install drip irrigation for watering and fertilizer application to the plants.

• All other cultural practices like pruning, disease pest management, pollination and harvesting are already discussed above.

Cost involved in Dragon fruit cultivation

• For cultivating Dragon fruit, the initial cost is high. It is nearly about 5-6 lakh rupees per acre for the first year.

• Poles are the main expensive investment in the farm. The cost involved for good quality poles installation is about 2-3 lakh rupees.

•  Running costs like fertigation, labour etc. costs nearly 50000 to 1 lakh rupees every year.

Profit from Dragon fruit cultivation

• The yield for the first year is less, it is around 500 kg per acre.From the second year farmers can get a yield of 15-20 kg per pole.

• So a farmer can get around 6-7 ton yield per acre.

• Retail selling price of Dragon fruits around 100-130 per Kg. So farmers can get 6-7 lakh or more from 1 acre.

• According to some market surveys, pink pulp Dragon fruit fetches more profit than white pulp Dragon fruit.

Drawbacks of growing Dragon fruit 

• Although Dragon fruit cultivation is profitable farming, it has some marketing drawbacks in India.

• So farmers should do a market survey and marketing contacts before cultivating Dragon fruit.

• Dragon fruit has great market demands in states like Maharasta, Karnataka, Tamilnadu, West Bengal, Gujarat etc.

• It is a low maintenance crop and can give yield upto 10-15 years so farmers definitely get good profit by Dragon fruit cultivation.

Conclusion

Hope this article provides some information about dragon fruit cultivation both in home gardens and in farmers' fields. It is a good ornamental plant and also has high market value with low maintenance.

So farmer’s may consider farming Dragon fruit to get more income.

Thank you.

In simple terms organic refers to deriving from a natural source. The demand for organic food products is growing gradually as there are no synthetic chemicals used during cultivation. So farmers are also showing interest in organic cultivation. Organic products can bring more profit to farmers as the demand of the produce is more.

Organic certification increases the value of the product and it attracts more customers resulting in more profit. But the organic certification goes through certain regulations and approval procedures. Sometimes farmers are not aware of the procedures and their certification process gets delayed. Here we discuss the step by step process of organic certification in India.

 I am trying to give complete details in a simple understandable way, so that farmers can easily understand the process and go for organic certification.

Indian Organic Certification Agencies

• In India there are mainly 2 types of organic certification processes that are popular. One is given by APEDA and the other one is given by PGS-India. So let us discuss these two types of organic certification in India.

• Another certification is given by FSSAI. It is a consumer based certification. This certification is given to both APEDA and PGS-India certified products. FSSAI organic certified logo is JAIVIK BHARAT.

Comparison of Organic Certification agencies (APEDA Vs PGS-India) 

APEDA Organic Certification

• The APEDA comes under the Ministry of Commerce & Industries, Government of India.

• Individual farmers and also groups of farmers can apply for this certification process.

• Commercial crops, livestock, wild forest products can be certified under this certification.

• This certification mainly focused towards export of organic products to foreign countries.

• APEDA organic certification process is costly, near about INR 10,000 to 50,000 will be the expenditure cost in a year.

• APEDA organic certification gives ‘INDIA ORGANIC’ LOGO.

• Farmers will have to wait for a minimum of three years for the APEDA certification process. 

• In this process the organic products are only certified. Not the farm.

PGS-INDIA Organic Certification

• PGS-India organic certification comes under, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

• Individual farmers can not apply for the PGS-India organic certification process. It only allows a group of farmers to apply for this certification.

• Farmers will have to join in a group or can make a new group with at least five members to apply for this certification.

• PGS-India organic certification cost is free.

• PGS-India certified products can only be marketed in India only.

• Farmers can get PGS-India logo for their products from the first year. It is not necessary to wait for a long time like APEDA certification. From the first year farmers can use the PGS India green logo.

• PGS India Green logo used for areas under organic conversion and PGS India Organic logo used for completely converted organic areas.

• PGS-India is adopted under PKVY scheme.

• In this process the farm is organic certified.

Let us discuss APEDA and PGS-India organic certification in brief.

Agricultural and processed food products export development authority (APEDA)

• (APEDA) has its headquarters at New Delhi. APEDA has Five Regional Offices at Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Guwahati.

• The Ministry of Commerce & Industries, Government of India is implementing the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) managed by APEDA.

• The programme involves organic farming, promotion and marketing of organic products. 

• The NPOP standards for production and accreditation have been recognized by European Commission and Switzerland for unprocessed plant products as equivalent to their country standards. 

• ‘Indian organic’ products duly certified by the accredited certification bodies of India are accepted by the importing countries. 

• APEDA is also in the process of negotiation with South Korea, Taiwan, Canada, Japan etc for exporting.

• APEDA PRODUCTS- click here to know the APEDA products.

• All products that are organic certified under APEDA, should display the ‘India Organic’ logo for customers, to easily identify certified products.

• For applying organic certification under APEDA, farmers will have to contact APEDA recognised Certification Bodies for the certification process.

• These Certification Bodies will verify the field and provide certification. Click here to know the certification agencies. Farmers may go for these agencies, check their cost structure before applying for the certification process.

• To apply for APEDA registration you may click here.

National standards for organic production(NSOP) For APEDA/NPOP certification. 

The organic certification based on some standards are as follows;

1. Conversion Requirements

• Farmers' land should be converted for organic farming. The time period  between the start of organic management and certification of crops and/or animal husbandry is known as the conversion period. The whole farm, including livestock, should be converted according to the standards up to a period of three years.

• Converted farm land and animals shall not get switched back and forth between organic and conventional management.

• Organic farming should contribute to the benefit of the ecosystem.

2. Choice of Crops and Varieties

All inputs like seeds and plant material should be certified organic. Crop varieties should be adapted to the soil and climatic conditions and be resistant to pests and diseases.

3. Fertilisation Policy

• Biodegradable plant or animal origin products should be used in fertilisation programmes.

• Non synthetic mineral fertilisers and fertilisers of biological origin are to be regarded as supplementary and not a replacement for nutrient recycling. 

• Proper pH levels should be maintained in the soil. 

• Manures containing human excreta (faeces and urine) should not be used.

4. Disease, Pest and Weed Management

• Pests and diseases and weeds should be controlled by preventive cultural techniques which limit their development. Crop rotations, green manuring, balanced fertilisation, mulching, mechanical control and the disturbance of pest development cycles.

• Organic Products used for pest, disease and weed management should be prepared at the farm. 

• Use of synthetic chemicals like herbicides, fungicides, insecticides is prohibited.

5. Contamination Control 

• Proper care should be taken to minimise contamination from outside areas and from within the farm.

• Protected structures like coverings, plastic mulches, insect netting and silage wrapping made from polyethylene, polypropylene or other polycarbonates are allowed. 

• These structures are to be removed from the soil after use and shall not be burnt on the farmland. 

• The use of polychloride based products are prohibited on the farm.

6. Soil and Water Conservation

Proper measures should be taken to prevent erosion, salination of soil, excessive and improper use of water and the pollution of ground and surface water.

7. Wild harvested products organic certification

• Wild harvested products shall only be certified organic if originated from a stable and sustainable growing environment.

•  Harvesting or gathering the product shall not threaten the existence of plant or animal species. 

• The collection area should be at an appropriate distance from conventional farming. 

For more details on standards of organic production- Click here

Participatory Guarantee System for India                  (PGS-India)

• The PGS-India system is based on a participatory approach, having a shared vision, transparency and trust.

• PGS-India standards have been defined in accordance with National Standards for Organic Production (NSOP) prescribed under National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) to maintain uniformity in organic production and quality of organic products in the country. For more details please click here.

• To register under PGS-India you may visit the site- Click here.

• To join a farmers group select ‘local group’ on the site and if you want to make a new group, go to login then select local group login button on the PGS-India site. New group will have to apply to the regional council for the PGS-India certification process.

• PGS-India also provides a dedicated site for online sale and purchase of organic products- Jaivik Kheti.

image source-(www.prakati.in)

Bottom Line

Hope this article may provide a basic idea about organic certification processes in India. The organic certified products fetch more income to the farming community, so farmers should go for the certification and increase their product value.

Thank you.