Palampur, January 30: A zero budget natural farming (ZBNF) project was launched on Monday in Himachal Pradesh with an aim to double the income of farmers of the state.
Notably, Himachal Pradesh governor Acharya Devvrat launched a zero budget natural farming (ZBNF) project. On this occasion, Governor Acharya Devvrat stressed to switch over to zero budget natural farming as chemical or organic farming was not acceptable in present scenario for the benefit of farmers. He said the agri-scientists had a great role to play in it and they need to start a movement from village level.
Governor Acharya Devvrat said zero budget natural farming system was the only alternative for chemical and organic farming as it was safe and had the capacity to double the income of farmers. Under this system, the cost of production becomes zero and products were non-poisonous. “It also increases the productivity of land, requires less consumption of water, protects friendly pests and the products produced were of best quality,” he added.
The Governor said that Prime Minister had the vision to double the income of farmers up to 2022 and we should contribute in this direction and work for the welfare of farm community. He also appealed that a group of five scientists should adopt one village for natural farming as the state government was providing all assistance and Chief Minister had started a pilot project from this university.
The Governor also noted that organic farming was no more profitable to the farmers. He stated that industries in the name of organic products had been set up throughout the world and the inputs were more costly than chemical fertilizers which show that the exploitation of farmers had not been checked.
He congratulated Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur for executing the natural farming project in the state and expressed hope that it would strengthen the farm sector. He also appreciated the initiative of Agriculture Minister Dr. Ram Lal Markanda for perusing the project effectively in the state.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said that the university was well known for the need-based research in the field of agriculture and veterinary and animal sciences in the state. He said that with 13 research stations and eight Krishi Vigyan Kendras located in different parts of the state, the University was catering to basic needs of the farmers after thorough training thus assisting the agriculturalists to improve their economy.
As 90 percent of our population was dependant on agriculture and I strongly believe that the agriculture programmes directly associated with farmers should be pushed in a big way and not be delayed, he said. With the launching of this pilot project, I believe that the farming community will benefit a lot from zero budget natural farming projects, said the Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister, in the end, lauded the efforts of Sikkim state for taking lead in organic farming and said that we have to surpass Sikkim in zero budget natural farming instead of using insecticides and pesticides.