Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar said that the results of natural farming were seen on the ground and benefits were now evident to the farmers in hilly states like Himachal Pradesh and as a result, about one lakh 30 thousand farmers were associated with this farming practice.The Governor was speaking in a meeting of State Project Implementation Unit under Prakritik Krishi Khushal Kisan Yojana at Raj Bhavan, today.Shri Arlekar said that he was not a farmer but he has been promoting this farming system for a long time. He had also met Subhash Palekar and also got information about this farming method from him, he added. He said that by adopting this, the farmer could get different crops from the same land at a time throughout the year and thus he could remain busy throughout the year.He said that this Agri practice was also very important in protecting indigenous cow.
The significance of Pahari cow has been explained in this farming method and by promoting this, conservation of cows would also be possible. He said that land holding was very less in Himachal and by adopting this method of farming, the farmers would get high yield and reduce the cost. He asked them to promote and spread awareness about this farming in tribal areas also. He said that in the present context, natural farming has the potential to increase the fertility of the land and products so produced would be better for health.On the occasion, Agriculture Secretary Ajay Sharma, apprised the Governor about various schemes being implemented by the state government for the benefits of the farmers besides natural farming.State Project Director of Pratikriti Krishi Khushal Kisan Yojna also Rakesh Kanwar detailed about the progress and work done in the field of natural farming.Dr. Rajeshwar Chandel, Executive Director gave detailed presentation on various aspects of the scheme.