Niti Aayog will soon prepare a detailed roadmap for natural farming as the country is in a position to adopt such alternative practices in agriculture due to current food surplus position. “We can give a chance to such alternatives because there is no serious threat to food security since we are food surplus,” said Ramesh Chand, Member of Niti Aayog.

“Even if we immediately set aside 10-15 per cent area (out of 140 million hectares) to any system of natural farming from the current methods and also if there is 30-35 per cent drop in yield (in those areas), still there is no threat to food security,” he added.

Ares of focus

Speaking at a day-long workshop on natural farming in New Delhi, Chand said prioritisation can be made in 6 per cent areas where chemicals were never used in the past. Besides, there were 14 districts, where fertiliser usage was less than 5 kg/hectare until two years back, and also several other districts where crop nutrient chemicals usage is less than 10kg/hectare could be prioritised under natural farming, he added.

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar claimed that Punjab farmers are not happy even if they are earning more compared to other States due to several challenges posed by the Green Revolution, even though there were also many benefits accrued from it. He warned that interest of the youth in agriculture has to be retained for which all challenges have to be addressed.

Addressing the event, Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat said natural farming has to be imbibed with scientific methods so that its adoption becomes easier. He admitted that in first three years of organic farming, there will not be as much production as in chemical farming.

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