Haryana agriculture and farmers’ welfare minister Jai Prakash Dalal on Sunday said the state government had started planning to establish a separate department to connect farmers of each village of the state with natural farming. Dalal said a separate budget was also expected for natural farming during the ongoing budget session of the Haryana state legislative assembly.
Dalal was in Kurukshetra University (KU) campus, where he held a press conference organised by the state agriculture department and said to discuss the topic of natural farming, a state-level workshop was being organised on the KU campus on March 8.
He said Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Gujarat governor Acharya Devvrat will also attend the workshop in Kurukshetra. He said 1,200 farmers had been invited to the workshop. He said the government would focus on starting laboratories for natural farming. “After this, a market will be established in Gurgaon. Efforts will also be made to connect some farmers of every village to natural farming,” he said.
“Poison-rich farming is practiced in the modern era. It not only affects human health, but it also harms the land, reducing farmers’ income.
Farmers were made aware of the problem two years ago and encouraged to practice natural farming, but the campaign had stopped owing to Covid. “Now that the pandemic has gone, an agricultural workshop is being organized to reconnect farmers with natural farming,” Dalal added.
Dalal went on to say that at the present, medications and fertilizers are being used indiscriminately in fields to grow crops, affecting the health of people and causing agricultural products to be undervalued in local and international markets. “As a result, the government has resolved to make farmers aware of natural farming by considering the quality of farm products, maintaining the demand of the moment in mind.”
“The government will first focus on setting up labs, testing techniques for products, certifying farmers who practice natural farming, and building training centers.” In addition, an organic product market would be developed in Gurugram,” the minister stated.