Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Monday appealed to the farmers in Ahmedabad district to adopt natural farming in a big way so that they can completely do away with urea in the next five years.

On the harmful effects of urea, Shah said that the fertiliser is causing cancer in consumers.

"Urea-fed grains cause cancer for the consumers. This isn't good for them as well as for the growers. It is possible to do natural farming on 21 acres with one cow. And it has been proved that the yield is 1.25 times more," said Shah addressing the farmers from rural Ahmedabad.

Gujarat already has over three lakh farmers undertaking natural farming.

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Shah also urged farmers to visit farms where natural farming is done, learn from their practices and experiences, and replicate on their fields.

"Lets bring natural farming to Ahmedabad district in such a way that in five years from now, we don't see a single bag of urea in this district," Shah said.

On the prospects for the farmers, Shah stated that a cooperative society will be set up to market organic produce.

"In a short-time, we will have a new multi-State cooperative society that facilitate exports of farm produce. This will be based on the Amul-Model."

Shah also stressed the need to have standard soil and product testing platforms for organic products.

Currently there are no marketing or testing mechanisms for such products. Arrangements are being made to develop such platforms and market organic products under the Amul brand, Shah added.

Amit Shah is on two-day visit to Gujarat to launch several development projects in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar—the Minister’s parliamentary constituency. The State goes to the polls in about a month with BJP and Congress gearing for the crucial elections.

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