The present government is working hard to provide all kinds of benefits and assistance to farmers. To protect agricultural land, the government has placed special emphasis on natural farming.

This was informed by Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath on Wednesday.

The Minister inaugurated the One day district level Khet Bachao Abhiyan and a workshop on natural farming at Ragna Higher Secondary School in Dharmanagar.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister said that the Khet Bachao Abhiyan is being conducted across the country to promote natural farming.

“This campaign started on June 1 and will continue until June 30. We can see that nature and the environment are changing. Agricultural land is gradually losing its fertility and becoming polluted. That is why we are now moving towards natural and organic farming,” he said.

The Minister informed that around 5,000 hectares of land in Tripura are currently under natural farming, and the target is to expand the coverage to 16,000 hectares by the end of this year.

“Before 2018, there was no natural farming in the state. Organic farming was being practised on only 2,000 hectares of land, but now it has expanded to more than 26,000 hectares. Excessive use of chemicals is damaging our land. Many people believe that chemical fertilizers increase agricultural production, but natural farming can also ensure higher productivity while significantly reducing cultivation costs. That is why this scheme is being implemented across the country,” he said.

The Minister added that the government is encouraging public participation in the initiative.

“We are bringing together people from all sections of society and requesting public representatives who own land to adopt natural farming practices so that farmers are encouraged to follow the same path,” he said.

He further stated that India has made remarkable progress in the agriculture sector, but protecting agricultural land remains a priority.

“We are holding meetings at the Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad levels. Scientists from Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) are also participating. We are making every effort to provide all kinds of benefits and support to farmers because we want their overall development. Our goal is to make India the number one nation in the world by 2047. Before 2014, India’s economy ranked 11th globally, and today it has risen to the fourth position under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he added.