Reduce Agriculture Expenses on Nature Based Farming in State : Bisen

Bhopal: Farmers-Welfare and Agriculture Development Minister Gaurishankar Bisen has said that the state government has resolved to double the income of farmers for which the costing of natural (adhyatmik) agriculture farming should be reduced. He advised the farmers to adopt natural farming. Farmers-Welfare Minister Gaurishankar Bisen was addressing a three-day training programme based on Zero-Budget Natural Farming in Bhopal today. Padmashri Subhash Palekar was also present on the occasion.

Farmers-Welfare Minister Bisen said that industrial development was not possible without agriculture. The materials needed by all industries initially are fulfilled by farming. Minister Bisen said that after the country’s independence we have become self-reliant in the field of agriculture. In the last one decade, several landmarks have been achieved in the field of agriculture production in the state. The Minister said that the production of wheat in the state in the year 2003 was 24 lakh metric tonnes which increased to 170 lakh metric tonnes in the year 2016. The production of wheat is expected to rise up to 200 lakh metric tonnes in 2017.

Talking about the pulse crops in the state Bisen said that earlier the area of these crops was 17 lakh hectares but now it is 22 lakh hectares. He said that the pulse crops should also be purchased on support price. The Farmers-Welfare Minister said that a Rashtriya Kisan Mela will be held in Bhopal in January-2018. The work for increasing the area of irrigation in the state is going on at a fast pace. The area will be increased up to 50 lakh hectare. He also urged farmers to get the soil in their fields tested at the laboratory set up in the development blocks.

In his address MP Alok Sanjar said that we have made maximum use of chemical fertilizers in our fields owing to excessive competition, the ill-effects of which are now coming to the fore. He said that now is the right time to adopt nature based farming. In his address Padmashri Subhash Palekar said most of the problems related to farming are global. He said that we can tackle climatic changes and persistent migration from villages through nature based farming. He said that nature has given us adequate resources with which we can fulfil our basic needs but we will have to refrain from forced harvesting. He said that farming can be done on nearly 30 acres land with one desi cow.

Padmashri Palekar said that money from the cities will flow to the village with the idea of self-sufficiency based economy and will strengthen the rural economy. Kisan-Kalyan Sanchalak Mohanlal Meena said that the farmers have been selected from 313 development blocks. Nearly 1250 farmers and about 400 agriculture officers are taking part in the training camp. After the training, these officers will impart information on Zero-Budget Natural Farming to farmers of their respective regions as master-trainers. Narmada Samagra Seva office-bearer Karan Kaushik also addressed the programme.-WTN