Himachal governor lauds youth for adopting natural farming

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The young farmers shared their experiences in natural farming, need-based innovations on their farm and the challenges they faced with Himachal governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar. (HT File Photo)

Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Sunday lauded the young farmers of the state who have adopted the Subhash Palekar Natural Farming (SPNF), experimenting and reaping rich returns in their fields.

He was interacting with the graduates and post farmers from Kangra district while presiding over a workshop under the Prakritik Kheti Khushhal Kisan Yojana (PK3Y) scheme for young entrepreneurs in natural farming.

The young farmers shared their experiences in natural farming, the need-based innovations on their farm and the challenges they faced.

Impressed with their zeal to shift to non-chemical farming, Arlekar said: “You have inspired me a lot with your field stories. You are the real ‘karma yogis’. I am very happy that the farmers from Himachal Pradesh are leading the country in natural farming.”

He said he was touched by the expression of the farmers, who said that they have shed the use of chemicals and have adopted the natural farming technique because they are concerned about the nutrition of coming generations.

“It is very important what we are going to give to our younger generations,” he said.

The governor said the natural farming concept is being adopted in the entire country in the interest of farming, nutrition and health.

“We need not to be disappointed by the younger generation as many people generally talk about. I can see a lot of hope here as young and educated entrepreneurs have chosen to do farming and are doing good work in the field,” he said.

Arlekar said it was a matter of pride that 1.68 lakh farmers have adopted SPNF technique in Himachal Pradesh and said there is a need to expand the number of farmers as well as area under natural farming in the state.

The governor saw the exhibition of natural products produced by younger farmers and stalls by the Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA). He later visited the fields of farmers Anita Devi and Sulochana Devi near Kangra. He appreciated the efforts by farmers to switch to the low-cost, non-chemical and climate-resilient farming and said Himachal is showing the way to the entire country to adopt this environment-friendly farming.

Executive director, PK3Y, professor Rajeshwar Singh Chandel gave a presentation on the progress and the model adopted to promote natural farming in the state.

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