Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday said the present government started ‘Prakritik Kheti Khushal Kisan Yojana’ for the long term welfare of the farmers after coming into power with a budget provision of Rs 25 crore and today about over 1.71 lakh farmers have adopted natural farming in the state.

Addressing the 12th Biennial National Krishi Vigyan Kendra Conference at Dr. Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni in Solan district, Thakur appreciated the efforts of the former HP Governor and present Governor of Gujarat Acharya Devvrat in promoting natural farming in the state.

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He said that excessive use of chemical fertilizers was very harmful and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also appreciated the efforts of Himachal in promoting natural farming on various platforms.

The Union Government also made a special provision in the Union Budget for promoting natural farming in the whole country.

The excessive use of chemical fertilizers has reduced the production power of the soil which was a matter of concern. We are working to make Himachal Pradesh chemical-free in the farming sector in a phased manner and are moving towards making the State a natural farming State in the coming 15 years, he added.

The Chief Minister said that PM Modi has envisioned doubling the farmer’s income by the end of this year and he has also stressed crop diversification only then the income of the farmers could be increased. He stated that even during the corona pandemic, the agricultural economy gave a big support to the economy of the country. Due to the adoption of advanced farming technologies and tireless efforts of the scientists of this University, today the agriculture, horticulture, and vegetable production by the farmers was contributing about Rs 10,000 crore to the GDP of the state. The state government would also endeavour to provide better marketing facilities to the farmers to sell their natural products.

He urged the scientists of the University to help the farmers and horticulturists of the State by continuously guiding them regarding improved varieties of seeds and planting materials given from time to time by this university.

He also appreciated the dedicated efforts of this University for the welfare of the farming community apart from excellence in higher education and urged the university administration to accelerate their research in the field of fruit-vegetable and sustainable farming so that farmers and gardeners could be benefitted.

He urged the scientists must ensure that the research done in the laboratories of Universities and various other institutions must be transferred to the fields to benefit the farmers and horticulturists of the state. As many as 731 Krishi Vigyan Kendras from all over the country and more than a thousand scientists and farmers from different States are participating in this two-day event on ‘Natural Farming and Other Sustainable Farming’ techniques.

Governor of Gujarat Acharya Devvrat while delivering his address on Natural Farming appreciated the efforts of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur in promoting natural farming in the state. He said the organic carbon of soil in India was 2.5 when the first Green revolution was initiated in India which has now reduced to 0.5 or even less. This was a matter of concern and natural farming was today the need of the hour as this would not only improve the soil health but also increase farm production, thereby improving the economy of the farmers.

Acharya Devvrat also shared his personal experiences regarding natural farming with the scientists on the occasion.

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narender Singh Tomar, while addressing the event virtually from New Delhi, said India has emerged as the frontrunner country in the world in matters of development. It was the need of the hour to carry out research held in labs in the fields of the farmers. Besides, it was the duty of the scientists and farmers to make the nation self-reliant in food grain production. In olden times, there was minimal use of fertilizers which has increased manifold, and now it was essential to increase maximum use of technology to increase production but at the same time minimize the use of chemical fertilizers, he added.