BHUBANESWAR: Natural farming is making steady progress in the country and farmers in Odisha should also opt for it to maintain the fertility of the soil and improve agricultural production, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Sunday.
Addressing the Argus Agri Vikas Conclave 2022 here, Tomar said the Centre will extend all support to the farmers in practising the traditional farming method which is free from any fertiliser of chemical use. He said after the success of chemical and organic farming in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also been emphasising on natural farming.
“In December last year, the Prime Minister launched a natural farming mission. Currently, natural farming is being successfully done in more than 4 lakh hectares across the country and farmers have immensely benefited from it. Farmers will be sensitised and the plan is to increase the coverage to 38 lakh hectares,” Tomar said.
The Union Minister expressed his happiness that Odisha is among the leading states moving in this direction. “Over 24,000 hectares of agricultural land in Odisha falls under natural farming. I will appeal to farmers from Odisha to go for natural farming. Centre will stand shoulder to shoulder with them,” he said.
Tomar said despite the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, India’s agriculture sector recorded a growth of 3.9 per cent which was possible due to the agriculture-friendly policies of the Centre and the hard labour of the farming community.
Use of technology in agriculture is also being promoted to boost production and increase the growth rate. Digital Agri Mission is a step in this direction where use of moblie application, AI and drone technology is being encouraged, he said.
The Minister added Centre will be spending Rs 6,865 crore to give hand-holding support to small and marginal farmers to scale up their operations using technology. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) DG Trilochan Mohapatra said technology interventions can propel Odisha’s growth in the agriculture sector to double-digit.
He said promotion of crop diversity and climate resilient varieties will help in increasing farmers’ income.
Former Chief Secretary Jugal Kishore Mohapatra and Editor-in-Chief of Argus News also spoke at the event.