Amit Shah lauds Himachal for promoting natural farming

The Central Government has lauded the innovative initiative of Himachal Pradesh to promote natural farming. Union Home and Cooperatives Minister Amit Shah appreciated the natural farming scheme of Himachal Pradesh at a ‘Manthan Baithak’ on co-operatives held in New Delhi recently.

Shah lauded the initiatives of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu for taking a lead in promoting natural farming in a big way, setting an example for the rest of the country.

The Home Minister said, “Himachal mein natural farming mein bahut achchey experiments hue hain.” He added that with this decision, Himachal Pradesh became the first state to promote natural farming by providing a minimum support price (MSP) for various crops grown through this method.

Meanwhile, Sukhu said that farmers and horticulturists had been increasingly drawn towards natural farming and over 2.23 lakh of them had adopted chemical-free farming. The state government had set a target to connect 9.61 lakh farmers with natural farming in a phased manner, he added.

Sukhu said that an MSP of Rs 30 per kilo was initially fixed for maize, which had been enhanced to Rs 40 per kilo and 1,400 metric tonnes of maize had been procured from 1,509 farmers. Similarly, wheat was being procured at an MSP of Rs 60 per kilo and raw turmeric for Rs 90 per kilo.

The government has declared Pangi in Chamba district as the state’s first natural farming subdivision. The initiative is aimed at preserving traditional farming practices, enhancing food security and promoting sustainable livelihoods in this remote valley.