Mint Primer Natural farming: Ambitious plan, but will it work?
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. It aims to promote chemical-free farming. Natural farming involves local sourcing of inputs such as livestock manure and preparing biopesticides from herbs.
It relies on traditional knowledge and seeks to improve soil health and push farmers to diversify the crop basket. With an outlay of ₹2,481 crore, the mission targets to reach 10 million farmers and cover 750,000 hectares in two years. To support farmers in 15,000 clusters, 10,000 bio input resource centres will be set up.
Farmers will receive hands-on training at model farms and 30,000 krishi sakhis will be deployed as community resource persons. In principle, the two forms of farming are the same. But organic farming follows stringent procedures and third-party certification, and requires a minimum conversion period of two to three years to shift from chemical to bio inputs.
In natural farming, growers can decide on the pace to transition away from chemical fertilizers and pesticides, ensuring no sudden drop in yields. This offers farmers flexibility and allows them to experiment with local inputs. On the flip side, while certified organic produce fetches a premium price, produce from non-certified natural farms may be difficult to market.
In principle, the two forms of farming are the same. But organic farming follows stringent procedures and third-party certification, and requires a minimum conversion period of two to three years to shift from chemical to bio inputs. In natural farming, growers can decide on the pace to transition away from chemical fertilizers and pesticides, ensuring no sudden drop in yields.
Read more on livemint.com
