Himachal Farmers Embrace Natural Farming: Governor

Shimla, Sep 13 (PTI) Farmers of Himachal Pradesh are showing keen interest in adopting natural farming, and it is a matter of great contentment that other states are also coming forward to adopt this method, Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla said on Friday.

He was addressing a two-day international conference on natural farming to enable sustainable food systems at Dr YS Parmar Horticulture and Forestry University, Nauni, in Solan district.

Governor of Gujarat Acharya Devvrat was also present on the occasion as a special guest and keynote speaker,

Shukla lauded the contribution of Nauni University in promoting natural farming across the country. He also appreciated the role of Acharya Devvrat, who revolutionised natural farming in Himachal Pradesh.

"The growing popularity of this system was quite evident from the fact that about 1.94 lakh farmers of 3,584 panchayats were growing diverse crops naturally on 34,342 hectares of land," he said.

The governor said that Niti Aayog had also started the 'National Mission on Natural Farming' based on the model of Himachal Pradesh for the implementation of natural farming.

"It is a matter of pride for a small state like Himachal that agricultural scientists, research scholars, tourists, farmers and agricultural officers from all over the country are visiting the models established in Himachal to get detailed information on natural farming," said the governor.

He added that the central government is constantly making efforts to promote natural farming. The central government linked this method with the "Traditional Agriculture Development Scheme", and guidelines have been issued for its implementation.

"In the financial year 2024-25, around 36,000 new farmers will be connected to this system by adding 10 new farmers in every panchayat and they will be certified in natural farming through the portal. 10 new farmer-producer associations will be formed to empower the farmers and better marketing of their products," the governor said.

Devvrat also congratulated farmers of Himachal Pradesh for adopting natural farming and appreciated the efforts of scientists at the university for the promotion of natural farming.

He highlighted the positive results of research done in this direction by various universities and said that this method of farming was necessary for future generations.

He also explained the ill effects of global warming and the damage caused by the excessive use of urea and DAP to increase production.