Bengaluru/Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Agriculture Minister, Virender Kanwar on Thursday urged the Union Government to set up National Level Centres of Excellence for Natural Farming and Seed Potato in Himachal Pradesh.
Addressing the delegates at the two-day national conference of Agriculture and Horticulture ministers of different states in the country in Bengaluru, the minister highlighted the importance and success of natural farming in the hill state of Himachal and said there was a need to strengthen research and development in agriculture.
The minister said the state government is motivating and training the farmers to adopt Subhash Palekar Natural Farming (SPNF) technique through Prakritik Kheti Khushhal Kisan Yojana (PK3Y) for the last four years.
He said as many as 1.71 lakh farmers in the state are now practicing natural farming in Himachal. He said the government has reached out to 99 percent of Panchayats in the state with this non-chemical, low-cost, and climate resilient technique, and very soon, the state will have successful models of natural farming in all the panchayats. He said the small state is now showing the way to the entire country in natural farming.
Virender Kanwar also shared the success of Externally Aided Projects on crop diversification (JAICA) in Agriculture and HP SHIVA (ADB) and HP HDP (World Bank) in Himachal Pradesh at the conference.
He thanked Central Government for its help and support.
Secretary Agriculture to Government of Himachal Pradesh, Rakesh Kanwar and Director, Agriculture, HP, NK Dhiman, and officers from the state Horticulture department also attended the conference.
