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The $25,000 grand prize will be donated to the Peace Country Gleaners, a non-profit organisation based in La Crete, Alberta, focused on feeding hungry people around the world

BASF Canada Agricultural Solutions (BASF) will donate a combined $65,000 to farming communities across Western Canada. BASF’s Community Challenge called on InVigor hybrid canola growers to nominate a local organisation or initiative for the chance to receive one of eight $5,000 donations, with an additional $25,000 grand prize award in celebration of InVigor hybrid canola’s 25th anniversary season. 

 

The $25,000 grand prize will be donated to the Peace Country Gleaners, a non-profit organisation based in La Crete, Alberta, focussed on feeding hungry people around the world. The organisation processes locally grown vegetables which are then dehydrated to be distributed globally to those in need. Operated entirely by volunteers, the organisation was selected for its local roots and strong global impact. The donation will enable Peace Country Gleaners to make facility improvements and boost production.

 

Brent Collins, Head of Canola Seeds, BASF Canada. “This year’s initiative saw a robust number of submissions, recognising the great organisations that enhance the communities where our growers live and work. BASF is always striving to help build strong and healthy communities, so supporting an organization like Peace Country Gleaners that helps feed the world was a natural fit.”

 

The Community Challenge—which ran from August 30 to October 15, 2021—generated nearly 100 entries from growers across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Canada’s prime canola-growing region. Eight winning recipients were selected by random draw, and each received a $5,000 donation in their name to their selected community initiative or organisation.

 

The $25,000 grand prize will be donated

An exclusive website on natural farming developed by NITI Aayog was launched

A national workshop on Natural Farming by Agriculture vertical, NITI Aayog was recently held where Krishi Vigyan Kendras across India under the Chairmanship by Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog participated.

 

The opening remark of the event was given by Dr Neelam Patel, Senior Adviser (Agriculture), NITI Aayog which was followed by an address by Ramesh Chand, Member (Agriculture). He mentioned the journey of the country from food deficiency to food surplus and the need to focus on doubling farmers’ income. He also emphasised on the scientific validation of natural farming practices. 

 

An exclusive website on natural farming developed by NITI Aayog was launched by Dr Kumar. The website covers information regarding natural farming including coverage of the practice in India, various schemes and initiatives by Central and State Governments, success stories from farmers and relevant publications among others. The website can be accessed at https://naturalfarming.niti.gov.in/. 

 

Acharya Devvrat, Governor of Gujarat mentioned the advantage of natural farming over organic farming considering the lesser input requirement and reduced labour cost. Devvrat emphasised that natural farming was based on frontline technologies and scientific principles. 

 

The first technical session of the workshop was chaired by T Vijayakumar, Vice Chairman, Rythu Sadhkar Sanstha, Andhra Pradesh. He shared the experiences of Andhra Pradesh in natural farming. Priya Ranjan, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, highlighted the schemes and initiatives of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare for the promotion of natural farming. The potential of natural farming for addressing the global challenges related to the agriculture sector was underlined by Dr Ravi Prabhu, DDG, World Agroforestry Centre, ICRAF.

 

Dr AK Singh, DDG (Agriculture Extension), ICAR, elaborated on the role of KVKs to demonstrate and disseminate natural farming practices. Dr Rajeshwar Chandel, Executive Director, Prakritik Kheti Kushhal Kisan Yojanaa, Government of Himachal Pradesh deliberated on natural farming for fruits and vegetables.

 

The second technical session of the workshop was chaired by Prof JP Sharma, Vice-Chancellor, SKUAST, Jammu & Srinagar and included experience sharing by farmers and KVKs from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana and Maharashtra followed by open house discussion.

 

More than 1000 participants including state government and KVK officials, researchers from ICAR and Agriculture Universities and farmers have attended the workshop virtually from across the country. 

 

An exclusive website on natural farming developed