Government agencies have hardly made any effort to promote the concept of organic farming in Gujarat and yet the state boasts of a few organic farming schemes and involvement of at least 30 farmers in the process.

In organic farming, crops are grown without the use of any pesticides or genetically modified seeds.

"The organic farming in the state is being carried out on 2,000 to 3,000 acres of land where farmers use vermin-compost as fertiliser and herbal pesticides to enrich the soil," said Kapil Shah, a member of 'Jatan' a non-profit organisation working for the past 25 years to promote organic farming.

Shah said different varieties of crops are raised on this land depending on the condition of the soil.

"Though 30 farmers from middle to high income groups are involved in the work, we are trying to promote the concept of organic farming all around the state by giving incentives to small farmers," said Shah.

On Sunday, at a conference organised by 'Jatan' and 'Vikas Goshthi' – another organisation involved in promoting the concept – Shah along with Dr G V Ramanjaneyulu, the director of the Hyderabad-based 'Centre for sustainable agriculture' discussed the biological fallouts of using genetically modified (GM) crops on human bodies.

Shah said: "When a new gene is introduced for genetic modification, antibiotic bacteria are also pumped along with it to enable the crop attain the desired genetic character. When these seeds enter the human regime, they end up destroying the humans' immunity leading to eruption of several diseases."