Plan afoot to make HP natural farming state by 2022: Minister

Tribune News Service

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Shimla, January 5

With an aim to make Himachal Pradesh a natural farming state by 2022, the government has set a target to involve all 9.61 lakh farmers of the state into natural farming, Agriculture Minister Ram Lal Markanda has said.

He said the Subhash Palekar Organic Farming Scheme had started showing results as farmers were being encouraged to grow vegetables and other crops through natural farming individually or by forming self-help groups.

In all, 2,664 gram panchayats of the total 3,226 panchayats of the state had been covered under the Prakritik Kheti Khushhal Kisan Scheme. So far, 44,325 farmers had been provided training on natural farming by organising 1,031 programmes at different places, he said.

As many as 39,124 farmers of the state had adopted natural farming against the target of 50,000, the minister said. Natural farming was being done in approximately 1,650 hectares of the state.

A target had been fixed to involve 9.61 lakh farmers into organic farming by 2022, for which all-out efforts were being made by the government. Two lakh farmers would be involved in organic farming this year, he added.

The entire Pangna village of the Karsog area in Mandi had adopted natural farming. Ghaini village of Shimla was the first panchayat where women had formed the Village Organisation Himalaya Institute for growing organic vegetables.

In all, 28 horticulturists from the Banjar valley of Kullu had transformed their orchards into organic farming fields. Farmers of Darot village in the Bhoranj block of Hamirpur were growing wheat, gram and peas on approximately 12 hectares by adopting organic farming.

The Agriculture Minister said the government was providing 50 per cent grant to farmers to buy cows. To collect cow urine, Rs 8,000 was being provided to build floors in the gaushalas besides three plastic drums to prepare manure, he added.