Shimla, April 7 The Himachal Pradesh Department of Agriculture has set a target to integrate one lakh farmers with natural farming by 2026, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Tuesday.
The CM said the state government is actively promoting natural farming and continuously encouraging farmers to adopt this method, as it enables them to earn higher profits at lower costs.
"So far, as many as 2,22,893 farmers and horticultural families have adopted natural farming practices. The method has reached 99.3 per cent of the state's panchayats and is currently being practised on 38,437 hectares of land," he said.
"Also, more than two lakh farmers engaged in natural farming have been registered, of which 1,98,000 have already been issued certificates," he added.
The CM also said under the Prakritik Kheti Khushhal Kisan Yojana, the use of chemical inputs is discouraged, while inputs based on indigenous cow dung, cow urine and local plant resources are promoted.
"The key objectives of the scheme include environmental conservation, promotion of crop diversification, and reduction in the cost of cultivation," he said.
The CM asserted that the state government is offering the highest minimum support price (MSP) in the country for naturally grown produce to ensure fair returns for farmers.
"This year, the MSP for naturally grown wheat has been increased from Rs 60-80 per kg, maize from Rs 40-50, barley from the Pangi Valley from Rs 60-80, and natural turmeric from Rs 90-150 per kg," he said.