Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressed the national conclave on ‘Natural Farming’ organized at Gujarat’s Sardar Patel Auditorium, Amul, Anand through virtual medium from New Delhi today. Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur also participated virtually from Shimla in this conclave. The Prime Minister exhorted the farmers to adopt natural farming to increase their agricultural production and double their income. He said that although the role of fertilizers in the country’s green revolution could not be denied, it was imperative that farmers adopt some alternative technology to check the increasing cost and health damage being caused by pesticides and imported fertilizers. Latter, during informal interaction with the journalists.
The Chief Minister said that the present State Government in its very first budget in the year 2018 launched Prakritik Kheti Khushal Kisan Yojana to promote natural farming. He said that a provision of Rs.25 crore had been made for this scheme in the state. Chief Minister said that about 1.54 lakh farmer families have adopted natural farming in the state and 9200 hectares land has been covered under the scheme in the last four years. He said that a target has been set to bring about 12000 hectares of land under natural farming by connecting 1.50 lakh farmers during this year. Jai Ram Thakur said that the State Government was providing 50 percent subsidy up to a maximum of 25,000 rupees on the purchase of Indian breed of cow for natural farming besides five thousand rupees as transport fee. He said that about Rs 46.18 crore has been spent in the last three and a half years under Prakritik Kheti Khushal Kisan Yojana.
