NELLORE: Andhra Pradesh has brought 4,34,156.56 hectares under natural farming, the highest among all States, with 6,55,659 farmers enrolled in the practice under the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF).
Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shivraj Singh Chouhan told the Lok Sabha in a written reply that the performance of Andhra Pradesh is well ahead of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan which logged 1.16.200 and 1,12,865.58 hectares respectively. Andhra Pradesh also leads the country in the number of farmers enrolled with 6.56 lakh farmers are more than double that of Uttar Pradesh leaving Rajasthan at 2.67 lakh farmers in the third place.
The Centre approved National Mission on Natural Farming in November 2024 under which 24,102 clusters were formed, covering 12.60 lakh hectares, while 8,100 Bio-Input Resource centres were set up and 40,182 Krishi Sakhi/Community Resource Persons deployed to support farmers.
Andhra Pradesh alone accounts for about 34.4 per cent of the total area covered under the Mission and around 24.5 per cent of total farmer enrolment, the statement tabled in the House said.
An ICAR study conducted through the All India Network Programme on Natural Farming has examined natural farming across 16 States and eight major cropping systems.
The Ministry also cited a NITI Aayog assessment under which 91.2 per cent of farmers adopting natural farming experienced increased crop productivity and improved soil health, while 90.1 per cent reported reduced input costs.