Betting on natural farming as a model to raise farmers’ income and improve soil conditions, the Centre is of the view that unproven technology does not mean it is not good, hence it should be adopted.
“A lot of water has flown since 2019...Ultimately unproven does not mean it is not good. Farmers practice (of natural farming) over the years showcase the strength of a particular cultivation practice,” Union Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal said while referring to a two-year old report.
In the last two years, the number of farmers adopting natural farming have been on rise in Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, he said.
The National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) in 2019 had stated that zero budget farming is an unproven technology bringing no incremental value gain to farmers.
An area of 4 lakh hectare was approved in eight States last financial year for training and promotion of natural farming under a scheme Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati (BPKP) that started from the 2020-21, he said. BPKP — a sub scheme of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), and started last year — promotes traditional indigenous practices including use of cow dung-urine formulations and plant-based preparations. Under BPKP, farmers get ₹12,200/ha for three years for cluster formation and capacity building.
Leading the way
Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are leading in natural farming, Agarwal said. Though the government has not yet captured the total area under natural farming in the country, farmers are being trained and the data will be captured after they adopt this practice, he said.
So far, 43.38 lakh farmers have adopted organic/natural farming in 38.09 lakh hectares (lh) area. The Centre targets to raise 7.35 lh additional area under different schemes between 2022-23 and 2025-26.
Agarwal declined to share if there was any plan of promoting natural farming to reduce fertiliser consumption in districts where it was very high. He also appealed farmers to join the conference where details and effectiveness of the zero-budget natural farming would be shared. According to a parliamentary standing committee report, about 290 districts account for consumption of 85 per cent of fertilisers used in the farm sector.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address on December 16 virtually at the valedictory function of three-day National Summit on Agro and Food Processing with focus on natural farming.
MSP panel
The secretary also said that the committee on the minimum support price (MSP) and other farm issues, will be set up “very soon”. Announcing the decision to repeal the three controversial farm laws, which have been done already, Modi had said that a committee would be set up to make MSP more effective and transparent. The committee would also suggest ways to promote zero budget natural farming, he had said.