Focus on adoption and implementation at the farm level
A two-day national-level consultation with relevant stakeholders was organized by NITI Aayog on September 29 and 30 to leverage the socio-economic and environmental benefits of natural farming for boosting farmers’ welfare, consumer health, food security and nutrition.
Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare said that the Union Agriculture Ministry had allocated a budget to promote natural farming and lauded NITI Aayog’s efforts to spearhead its implementation across the country. “Current proposals on natural farming by Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Chhattisgarh were under consideration and approvals were accorded for their implementation,” Tomar added.
Governor of Gujarat Acharya Devvrat said that in the next five years, 12 lakh hectares would be brought under natural farming in the state. He mentioned that approximately 1.20 lakh farmers in Gujarat adopted natural farming during the ongoing kharif season and another 5.50 lakh were interested to follow the same.
Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, emphasized that there was a need to build a common understanding and workable strategies to push natural farming to maintain continuity in the food supply system. The two-day consultation covered four technical sessions and highlighted the need for a systematic approach for the adoption and implementation of natural farming at the farm level. It also sought to identify an extension-cum-training programme to be undertaken by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research through Krishi Vigyan Kendras
