Tomar Advises AP Farmers to Switch to Natural Farming

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has advised the farmers to go for natural farming mentioning the side effects of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

On Friday, Tomar inaugurated the administrative building of the Krishi Vignan Kendra (KVK) at Kandukur in the Nellore district in virtual mode, noting that the KVKs aided the cause by bringing growers together and assisting them in adopting the most recent agronomic practices.

He emphasised the Centre's direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme to help farmers. He also emphasized the KVKs' role in establishing Farmers Producer Organizations (FPOs) to increase their income levels.

He promised that the Centre would provide all possible assistance to strengthen KVKs and address infrastructure deficiencies.

‘Boon to farmers’

M. Maheedhar Reddy, a YSRCP legislator from Kandukur, stated that the KVKs served as a link between farmers, research institutions, and governments. The presence of KVK in the region was beneficial to the farmers because it facilitated the transfer of knowledge and technologies to them as well as the provision of much-needed training.

Mohapatra, Director General of the Indian Council of Agriculture Research, emphasised the importance of the KVK in addressing the problems unique to small and marginal farmers in the drought-prone region.

Dr. Mohapatra advocated for the promotion of rainwater harvesting and efficient reuse via Farm Pond Technology, soil fertility/health improvement, recycling of crop residues and agro-industrial wastes, the dissemination of high-yielding, and stress-tolerant crop varieties, post-harvest processing, and value addition.

Natural Farming

Natural farming, also known as traditional farming, is a chemical-free farming method. It is a diversified farming system based on agroecology that integrates crops, trees, and livestock with functional biodiversity.

Natural farming is promoted in India as the Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati Programme (BPKP) as part of the centrally sponsored Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY). BPKP aims to promote traditional indigenous practises that reduce the use of externally purchased inputs.

It is largely based on on-farm biomass recycling, with a particular emphasis on biomass mulching, the use of on-farm cow dung-urine formulations, periodic soil aeration, and the avoidance of all synthetic chemical inputs. Natural farming, according to the HLPE Report, will reduce reliance on purchased inputs and help to relieve smallholder farmers of credit burden.