Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the experiments of natural farming in Surat district of Gujarat.
Virtually addressing a conclave on natural farming held in Surat on July 10, Mr. Modi said Surat’s success in connecting 75 farmers in every panchayat with natural farming is going to become an example for the entire country.
The prime minister said the extraordinary success of the Digital India Mission is the country’s answer to those who used to say that bringing change in the village is not easy. “Our villages have shown that villages can not only bring change but can also lead the change,” he said.
Mr. Modi opined that if there’s a people’s movement on natural farming, it will be a huge success in the coming days. “Farmers who will get involved early with this movement will reap great benefit,” he said.
Natural Farming
Mr. Modi said agriculture system is the basis of the country’s and its people’s life and health. “India has been an agriculture based country by nature and culture. Therefore, as our farmer progresses, as our agriculture progresses and prospers, so will our country progress,” he said and claimed that natural farming is a means of prosperity as well as respecting and serving mother earth.
“When you do natural farming, you serve mother earth, protect the quality of the soil, its productivity. When you do natural farming you are serving nature and the environment. When you join natural farming, you also get the privilege of serving Gaumata (cow)”, he added.
He said India has led the world in the area of sustainable lifestyle. “Therefore, now is the time when we move forward on the path of natural farming and take full advantage of the global opportunities that are emerging”, he said.
He added that the Centre has created 30,000 clusters of natural farms for the benefit of lakhs of farmers and one million hectares will be covered under the ‘Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Scheme’. He said that certified products are fetching good prices when farmers export them.
