Shimla— Himachal Pradesh’s government has set an ambitious target to make the hill state the country’s leading practitioner of natural farming, Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Friday.
Addressing a meeting of the state’s agriculture department, Mr Sukhu asked officials to draw up a focused strategy to expand natural farming and pledge full government support. He instructed the department to create a dedicated marketing wing to link naturally grown produce with buyers and to explore digital platforms for wider market access.
The chief minister said 2,56,870 farmers are currently practising natural farming across 44,784.73 hectares in the state, and that the number is rising after recent policy initiatives. “Farmers who had abandoned cultivation are returning and showing interest in natural methods,” he added.
Mr Sukhu highlighted a series of measures designed to improve incomes for growers of natural produce, including higher minimum support prices (MSP). Under the scheme, naturally cultivated wheat will be procured at Rs. 80 per kilogram, maize at Rs. 50, raw turmeric at Rs. 150, barley from Pangi Valley at Rs. 80 and ginger at Rs. 30.
The government has also raised MSPs for milk, which the chief minister said has encouraged greater participation in the cooperative dairy sector and boosted overall production. The MSP for cow milk has been increased from Rs. 32 to Rs. 61 per litre, and for buffalo milk from Rs. 47 to Rs. 71. Mr Sukhu said Rs. 300 crore has been disbursed to milk producers over the past three-and-a-half years, and that the policy aims to benefit small and marginal dairy farmers across the state.
Among other directives, the chief minister asked officials to complete the legal formalities to declare Bara Bhangal in Kangra district a “natural panchayat” for organic cultivation, and to pursue a geographical indication (GI) tag for rajma (kidney beans) grown in the area.
“We are committed to strengthening farmers’ livelihoods. There is no shortage of funds to support natural farming,” Mr Sukhu said.
Agriculture Minister Chander Kumar, senior officials including Secretary (Agriculture) C. Paulrasu, Secretary to the Chief Minister Ashish Singhmar, and the Managing Director of the H.P. State Agriculture Marketing Board Ram Kumar Gautam attended the meeting.
