About 1.5 lakh farmers practising natural farming in Himachal Pradesh

Shimla: About 1.5 lakh farmers practising natural farming in Himachal Pradesh would be certified under Prakritik Kheti Khushhal Kisan Yojana (PK3Y) in 2023-24.

According to a study, 28 per cent farmers have adopted natural farming techniques on their own through peer-to-peer learning without any training and therefore the focus of PK3Y in this financial year will be consolidation of farmers practising natural farming, said Agriculture Secretary Rakesh Kanwar.

Addressing a meeting of the agriculture department officers to discuss the cluster-based agriculture development programme in the state, he said efforts would be made in 2023-24 to certify about 1.5 lakh farmers practising natural farming, a statement issued here on Friday said.

He said focus should be on consolidation of the existing farmers, increasing their area under natural farming, conducting refresher workshops, capacity building training and exposure visits.

The response and success in results on ground show that everyone is convinced that natural farming technique is beneficial and "we just need to take the practice further for overall benefits in agriculture," he added.

Kanwar asked the department officers to identify clusters, prioritise the issues and come out with a specific need-based budget for each cluster.

State Project Director, PK3Y, Naresh Thakur said PK3Y achieved the earmarked targets in 2022-23. He said over 51,000 farmers have been certified under PK3Y for natural produce and that the natural farming model villages in the state will also be strengthened.