Gujarat Governor bats for natural farming, says over 9.75 L farmers opted for it

Explaining the process, Devvrat said, “The husbandman moving connected the clump should person astatine slightest 1 desi cattle and a exemplary earthy farm. Along with the farmer, we are besides moving connected handholding the women successful the colony done krishi-sakhi (agriculture friend).”

Last year, the Gujarat authorities had shared information connected the percent of farmers practising earthy farming expanding from 35,000 successful 2019 to 8,71,316 successful 2023, which is present up to 9,75,761 — the past fig shared by the Governor.

According to Governor Devvrat, times had changed since the begetter of the greenish revolution, Dr MS Swaminathan, emphasised connected integrated farming to bring astir nutrient security.

He said the request present was to dispersed the usage of earthy farming, astatine the centre of which is the “desi Indian cow”. He said, “During those days, the dispersed of cultivation onshore was little arsenic determination were much forests. But present (agricultural land) has accrued arsenic has technology, availability of irrigation and powerfulness supply.”

Detailing the benefits of indigenous cows, helium said, “One gram of dung of the desi cattle has the imaginable to nutrient 300-500 crore of microorganisms, portion Holstein breed’s azygous gram could nutrient 18 lakh microorganisms.”

Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for launching the National Mission connected Natural Farming, Governor Devvrat said, “Use of pesticides and chemicals is not lone destroying quality wellness but besides the world where, successful the earthy process, the microorganisms and the earthworms till and nourish (the soil).”

Showing videos of his 180-acre workplace successful Kurukshetra, Haryana, swarming with “earthworms the size of snakes”, Governor Devvrat said erstwhile the farmers follow earthy farming, “these earthworms, which are dormant successful the soil, volition emergence again.”

Sharing his concoction for earthy manure, the Governor said helium prepares it with a premix of cattle dung, jaggery, gram flour and ungraded taken from the basal of a ample histrion successful a 200-litre drum.

“Within 72 hours, the microorganisms successful the premix doubled… and successful 7 days, the manure is acceptable to provender 1 acre of farmland,” said the Governor. According to him, nether the integrated farming process, an acre would necessitate 300 quintals of dung, “which would besides nutrient much methane” that contributes to planetary warming.

Devvrat took complaint arsenic the Governor successful July 2019 and is presently the chancellor of the Gujarat Vidyapith, wherever helium precocious tweaked the scope of the yearly ‘padyatra’ undertaken by the students to screen each 18,000 villages of the authorities and dispersed the connection of earthy farming.