New Delhi, Dec 16 (Agency) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urged states to make natural farming a mass movement, saying it will help save thousands of crores of rupees spent each year on importing chemicals and fertilizers. At least one village in every Panchayat across the country should embrace natural farming, Modi told the National Conclave on Natural Farming at Anand in Gujarat via video conferencing. Reducing dependence on chemical fertilizers and pesticides will reduce the input cost of farmers, he said. “We have to import huge amounts of chemicals and fertilizers worth thousands of crores. Consequently, input cost goes up, expenses of farmers increase and the kitchen budget of the poor also goes up,” he said. Farmers from across the country joined the event virtually. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath too did that.
The Prime Minister said that those who will benefit the most from natural farming will be 80 crore farmers, especially those who have less than two hectares of land. “They spend a lot of money on chemical fertilizers. If they adopt natural farming, their cost will considerably come down.” Zero budget natural farming refers to farming without taking any credit or spending money on purchased inputs. Desi cow, its dung and urine play an important role from which various inputs are made on the farm and provide necessary nutrients to soil, Modi said. Zero budget farming seeks to end farmers’ dependence on loans and drastically cut production costs. The government is implementing Zero Budget Natural farming viz Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Padhati (BPKP) as a sub scheme of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) to promote traditional and indigenous agricultural practices. The scheme mainly emphasises exclusion of all synthetic chemical inputs and promotes on-farm biomass recycling with major stress on biomass mulching, use of cow dung-urine formulations and other plant-based preparations.
While noting that chemicals and fertilizers had contributed significantly to Green revolution, Modi said there is need to look for alternatives. “Natural farming will play important role in the transformation of Indian agriculture in 21st century,” he said. A myth has been created that crop yield would be affected without chemical fertilizers, he said. While the truth is contrary to this, he said, underscoring the need for adopting natural farming. He laid emphasis on re-learning ancient knowledge and adopting them as per the requirement of modern times. Modi said many experts have reaffirmed that indigenous or native cow has an important role to play in natural farming. Further, they have said that from cow dung and cow urine one can find solutions to not only protecting crops but also enhancing soil fertility. Speaking at the event, Minister of Home Amit Shah, who also heads the Ministry of Cooperation, said that in order to promote natural farming it is important that farmers get a fair price for their produce. He said the Ministry of Cooperation is working towards setting up a network of laboratories across the country to do soil testing and certify that the soil is chemical free. The labs would certify organic produce so that they get access to global markets.