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Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed thousands of farmers at the National Conclave on Natural Farming on 16 December, 2021. The three-day Summit was organised from 14th to 16th December. It was attended by over 5000 farmers, apart from farmers connected Live through Central Institutes of ICAR, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and Agricultural Technology Management Agency network in the States. Union Ministers Shri Amit Shah, Shri Narendra Singh Tomer, Governor of Gujarat Shri Acharya Devvrat, Chief Ministers of Gujarat Shri Bhupendrabhai Patel and Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath were among those present on the occasion.
Addressing the farmers, PM Shri Modi called for the adaptation of agriculture according to new requirements, new challenges of the journey till the 100th year of independence. The Prime Minister noted that in the last 6-7 years, several steps have been taken, from seed to market to increase the income of the farmers. Measures from soil testing to hundreds of new seeds, from PM Kisan Samman Nidhi to fixing MSP at 1.5 times the cost of production, from irrigation to a strong network of Kisan Rail have taken the sector in that direction. He greeted the farmers from all over the countries who were connected to the event.
While acknowledging the important role of chemicals and fertilizers in the Green Revolution, the Prime Minister emphasized the need for working on its alternatives simultaneously. He warned against the dangers of pesticides and imported fertilizers which lead to increased costs of inputs and also cause damage to health. The Prime Minister stressed that this is the right time to take big steps before the problems related to agriculture become even worse.
Shri Modi said that those who will benefit the most from natural farming constitute about 80% of the farmers of the country. Most of these farmers spend a lot on chemical fertilizers. If they turn to natural farming, their condition will be better he said.
The Prime Minister urged every state, every state government, to come forward to make natural farming a mass movement. In this Amrit Mahotsav, efforts should be made to associate at least one village of every panchayat with natural farming, he insisted.
Shri Modi recalled that at the Climate Change Summit, he called upon the world to make ‘Lifestyle for Environment’ i.e. LIFE a global mission. India and its farmers are going to lead in this regard in the 21st century. Let’s take a pledge to make Maa Bharati’s land free from chemical fertilizers and pesticides in the Amrit Mahotsav of Independence, the Prime Minister exhorted the people.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Now our journey till the 100th year of independence is to adapt our agriculture according to new requirements, new challenges.
• We have to take our agriculture out of the lab of chemistry and connect it to the lab of nature. When I talk about nature’s laboratory, it is completely science-based.
• We need not only to re-learn the ancient knowledge of agriculture but also to sharpen it for modern times. In this direction, we have to do research afresh, mould ancient knowledge into the modern scientific frame.
• Those who will benefit the most from natural farming constitute about 80% of the farmers of the country.
• India and its farmers are going to lead the global mission for ‘Lifestyle for Environment’ i.e. LIFE in the 21st century.
• In this Amrit Mahotsav, efforts should be made to associate at least one village of every panchayat with natural farming