The three-day summit was attended by over 5000 farmers
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed farmers at the National Conclave on Natural Farming through a video conference. Union Ministers Amit Shah, Narendra Singh Tomar, Governor of Gujarat, Chief Ministers of Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh were among those present on the occasion. The Government of Gujarat organised the National Conclave on Natural Farming. The three-day summit was attended by over 5000 farmers, apart from farmers connected Live through Central Institutes of ICAR, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and ATMA (Agricultural Technology Management Agency) network in the states.
Addressing the farmers, the Prime Minister called for the adaptation of agriculture according to new requirements, new challenges of the journey till the 100th year of independence. The Prime Minister noted that in the last six to seven years, several steps have been taken, from seed to market to increase the income of the farmers. Measures from soil testing to hundreds of new seeds, from PM Kisan Samman Nidhi to fixing MSP at 1.5 times the cost of production, from irrigation to a strong network of Kisan Rail have taken the sector in that direction. He greeted the farmers from all over the countries who were connected to the event.
While acknowledging the important role of chemicals and fertilisers in the Green Revolution, the Prime Minister emphasised the need for working on its alternatives simultaneously. He warned against the dangers of pesticides and imported fertilisers which lead to increased costs of inputs and also cause damage to health. The Prime Minister stressed that this is the right time to take big steps before the problems related to agriculture become even worse.
“We have to take our agriculture out of the lab of chemistry and connect it to the lab of nature. When I talk about nature’s laboratory, it is completely science-based,” the Prime Minister said. The Prime Minister said today the more modern the world is becoming, the more it is moving towards ‘back to basic’. The Prime Minister said, “It means connecting with your roots. Who understands this better than all of you farmer friends? The more we water the roots, the more the plant grows”, said the Prime Minister.
