CM announces constitution of Natural Agriculture Board
By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 3 Nov: Governor of Uttarakhand Lt-General (Retd) Gurmit Singh; Governor of Gujarat, Acharya Devvrat; Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Agriculture Minister Ganesh Joshi, today participated in a State Level Natural Farming Workshop organised by the state Agriculture Department at Survey of India Stadium, Hathibarkala. On this occasion, Mukhyamantri Pratikriti Krishi Yojana was also launched and a Namami Gange Pratikriti Krishi Corridor Yojana was also launched. Not only this, the government also announced constitution of Natural Agriculture Board on this occasion and the Governor also released a book based on the theme of National Natural Agriculture.
Speaking on the occasion, Governor Lt-General Singh said that natural farming was a single solution to many problems in agriculture. He praised Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat for bringing a new dimension to an ancient agricultural system of India. He had shown a way to all towards returning to nature, Singh said.
The Governor said that natural farming was not a new form but a new identity, in line with the ancient Vedic thought. Under present circumstances it was the need of the hour to return to natural farming. To make natural agriculture a brand in Uttarakhand, one would have to implement this vision on the ground. He said that the state would have to pursue natural agriculture and cow service together. Cow dung and cow urine are very beneficial in making manure for natural farming. He said that the country has to move forward by connecting to the ancient civilization, its culture with the oldest history with modern technologies. The ancient method have to be combined with the modern technologies like artificial intelligence, drone technology, ropeways. This would be the future of India, the governor said and called for setting some goals in this direction.
Lt-General Singh also called for making agriculture an integral part of the culture and take up cooperative as well as corporate route. Singh said that the country was passing through its Amrit Kaal and the present decade would be the decade of Uttarakhand. New records for the development of Himalayas and Devbhoomi would have to be set in this decade. He said that goals have to be set for the coming time. Starting with agriculture, a new script would be required to be written for a developed Uttarakhand.
Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat, present in the workshop, said in his address that the land of Uttarakhand is rich in natural beauty and wealth.
This would prove to be a boon for natural farming. He said that natural farming could prove to be a game changer for the economy of Uttarakhand. For this, farmers would have to give up chemical farming and even organic farming. He said that at present the farmers are using chemicals and fertilisers excessively in their fields, due to which the fertility of the land was getting exhausted. The harmful effects of chemical fertilisers are surfacing now and due to which many diseases are also emerging. Carbon and micronutrients are decreasing in the fields. Devvrat said that to solve all these problems, one would have to return to natural farming. He said that natural farming is being done by him in 200 acres in which chemical fertilisers are not used at all. He informed that natural farming is being done by 2 lakh farmers in Himachal Pradesh and about 3 lakh farmers in Gujarat. The Gujarat Governor called upon the agricultural scientists to do more and more research on natural farming and while natural farming would save the environment, the income of the farmers would also be doubled and they would become strong and happy. On the basis of his experiences, Governor Devvrat briefed the farmers present in the meeting about the importance of natural farming and its benefits.
While addressing the state level natural farming workshop, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced that a Natural Agriculture Development Board would be constituted to promote natural farming in the state. The Chief Minister also approved an amount of 10 crores for the Chief Minister’s Natural Agriculture Scheme. He also announced a Namami Gange Krishi Corridor scheme and claimed that this would also help in cleaning the Ganga. The Chief Minister said that the best practices being done in the agriculture sector in the state would be recognised throughout the country.
The Chief Minister said that the work started by Governor Acharya Devvrat under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take forward the innovative programme of conservation of India’s culture and Mother Earth was unprecedented. He expressed confidence that some positive outcomes would emerge from this workshop which would prove helpful in opening new doors of possibilities in the field of natural agriculture. Dhami said that natural agriculture was being promoted in the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In this budget, along with making agriculture hi-tech, there had been an unprecedented focus on natural farming. With the promotion of natural farming, the state farmers were now moving ahead on the path of self-reliance.
Dhami said that Uttarakhand was also a suitable state for traditional agriculture from natural point of view.
Due to climate diversity, many types of local crops, fruits, herbs and aromatic plants were cultivated here. He said that it was the endeavour of the government to promote the business possibilities for the farmers doing natural farming so that more and more farmers could adopt natural farming. In the last few years, the use of chemicals has increased our production capacity but it had also adversely affected the fields and the soil. The tradition of considering the earth as mother was in the Indian culture itself. Today ill-effects of indiscriminate and unbalanced use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides were clearly visible not only in the soil and environment but also on the health of the animals.
Presently the demand for natural agricultural products is increasing not only in the country but all over the world and the state government aimed to get maximum benefit from it for the farmers of Uttarakhand.
Agriculture Minister Ganesh Joshi said that India being an agricultural country, the government was working continuously for the welfare of farmers and their welfare. He said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, work was being done on various schemes to empower the farmers. In addition, under the leadership of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the government was committed to fulfilling the resolve of doubling the income of the farmers of Uttarakhand state.
