Plans prepared to promote natural farming in Haryana: Khattar

Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that a subsidy of up to ₹25,000 on the purchase of indigenous cows will be provided besides four drums to a farmer to prepare a natural fertiliser produced by mixing cow’s dung and urine

Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday said his government has prepared a plan to promote natural farming on 50,000 acres of land.

Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday said his government has prepared a plan to promote natural farming on 50,000 acres of land. (HT Photo)

He said that a subsidy of up to ₹25,000 on the purchase of indigenous cows will be provided besides four drums to a farmer to prepare the ‘jeevamrutha ghol’ (a natural fertiliser produced by mixing cow’s dung and urine), which will help in growing usual crops without the use of any chemicals.

The chief minister said that natural farming is the only way out and its basic objective is to change the eating habits, for which we have to adopt the concept of food and medicine.

“A target has been set to promote natural farming on 50,000 acres of land in the state and in order to make people aware about it, an exhibition will be organised in every block,” he said while addressing a state-level programme on the theme of natural farming.

He said that farmers having land below 2.5 acres will be provided 50% subsidy for buying indigenous cows if they voluntarily adopt natural farming. He said that more than 50 progressive farmers should be trained at the block level and they will now be called natural farmers.

Khattar also expressed his concerns over the blatant use of pesticides and fertilisers in agriculture, saying that due to the use of chemical fertilisers, the fields have also become poisonous.

“We should take a pledge that we will neither grow with poison nor eat poison,” he said while addressing technical assistant managers, block technical assistant managers and farmers associated with the Agricultural Technology Management Agency (AATMA) of the central government.

Haryana agriculture minister JP Dalal said that 700 agriculture development officers will be recruited soon to provide better assistance to the farmers.