Focusing on the potential of Assam in natural farming, Gujarat Governor and an expert on natural farming technology Acharya Devavrat has said that the State has a vital role to play in the coming future. He said this while delivering his keynote address at the Natural Farming Conclave 2023 held in Guwahati recently.
The Gujarat Governor said that the mass movement to adopt natural farming will be successful in the coming years and the sooner farmers join this change, the more they will reap its benefits.
Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma highlighted the focus of the Central Government in creating awareness about natural farming among the farmers. He said Assam, too, is keen to switch to its traditional way of farming. He pointed out to the usage of urea, chemicals, fertilisers, and pesticides in farms have increased the risk of humans suffering from various ailments like cancer, kidney, liver, etc., in Assam.
Dr Sarma also symbolically distributed cheques of Pradhan Mantri Faasal Bima Yojana to selected beneficiaries out of the 3,24,065 farmers who will benefit from the distribution of ₹ 236 cr of crop insurance for the year 2021-22.
Among one of the beneficiaries was Waichang Terang, a farmer in Nagaon. “I generally cultivate paddy, besides rearing duck and hen. In the last flood, I lost everything. I became hopeless. However, when the Hojai Agricultural Office called me up to inform me that I will be one of the beneficiaries under PMFBY, I really felt relieved,” said Terang.
Agriculture Minister Atul Bora, in his address, said that the State agriculture sector is getting ready for an agri-revolution in traditional farming. Bora said that more than 20,000 farmers in 15 districts of Assam will cultivate 20 thousand hectares of crop through the natural farming method in the next five years.
More than 3,500 farmers across the State participated in the conclave.
Gujarat First Lady Darshana Devi, Agriculture Minister of Uttarakhand Ganesh Joshi, Cabinet Ministers of the Government of Assam Nandita Garlosa and Jogen Mohan were among those who were present in the meeting besides Agriculture Product Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary Ashish Kumar Bhutani, Assam Agriculture University VC Bidyut Deka, et al.
