Palampur varsity promotes natural farming

Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur, organised a Farmer-scientist interaction-cum-live telecast programme on Thursday to mark the release of the 21st instalment of PM-KISAN by the Prime Minister. The programme was chaired by Vice-Chancellor Dr Ashok Kumar Panda as chief guest and presided over by Dr Vinod Sharma, Director of Extension Education.

In his address, Dr Panda spoke in detail about the transformative impact of PM-KISAN on farming households, particularly small and marginal farmers in hill states like Himachal Pradesh. He said the scheme provides assured and timely financial support that strengthens farmers’ liquidity, enabling them to invest in essential inputs, diversify cropping systems and adopt improved technologies.

The Vice-Chancellor placed special emphasis on the growing relevance of natural farming. He noted that Himachal Pradesh’s diverse agro-climatic zones give it immense potential to develop niche-based natural farming clusters. He added that natural farming reduces dependence on chemical inputs and promotes soil regeneration, biodiversity conservation, better water-use efficiency and healthier ecosystems.