Yogi government is promoting natural farming to increase the income of farmers and improve the health of the soil. To prevent declining productivity due to chemical farming, farmers have been provided financial support and rural women have been made Krishi Sakhis.
Prayagraj. Yogi government of Uttar Pradesh is continuously working to increase the income of farmers and their welfare. The state government is paying special attention to solving the immediate and long-term problems faced by the farmers during farming. The biggest problem at present is the deteriorating health of the soil due to excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. To solve this, the government has started a special campaign.
Crop productivity is decreasing due to indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers.
In the desire of excessive production, farmers have started excessive use of chemical fertilizers in crops, which is now affecting both the fertility of the soil and the quality of the crops.
Shocking results have been found in the testing of soil samples collected by the Agriculture Department of Prayagraj Division. According to Piyush Rai, assistant director of the Regional Soil Testing Laboratory, testing of soil samples of 84,400 Kharif and 36,440 Rabi crops has revealed that the amount of organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil has gone below the minimum standard.
While the amount of organic carbon in the division should be between 0.5 to 0.75 percent, it has now fallen much below this. This has had a direct impact on the productivity and production cost of crops.
According to Prayagraj Deputy Director of Agriculture Pawan Kumar Vishwakarma, there has been a huge decline in crop productivity by 2023-24 compared to the year 2020-21. As-
- Wheat: Decreased from 28.15 quintal/hectare to 24.04
- Maize: 18.25 to 12.89
- Barley: 20.4 to 16.5
- Millet: 12.32 to 9.13
- Paddy: 31.90 to 28.40
To deal with these challenges, the Yogi government has decided to promote organic and natural farming.
Relief from natural farming, improvement in both soil health and farmer’s income.
Bovine based natural farming has become an important part of the agricultural reform mission of the Yogi government. According to Santosh Kumar Rai, Joint Director of Agriculture in-charge of Prayagraj division, 27,409 farmers of 892 clusters in four districts of the division – Prayagraj, Fatehpur, Kaushambi and Pratapgarh have adopted natural farming. So far 17,965 hectares of land has been connected with this system.
Phulpur (Prayagraj) farmer Umesh Patel said that due to excessive use of chemical fertilizers, the cost of maize crop increased and profits decreased, but after adopting natural farming, he is now growing chemical-free maize in 10 hectares of land and has earned more than Rs 10 lakh in one season.
Financial assistance from government to promote natural farming
Under the ‘Indian Natural Farming System Scheme’, the Uttar Pradesh government is providing financial assistance to farmers to adopt natural farming. In this scheme, farmers are given financial assistance for three years-
- First year: ₹4800 per acre
- In the next two years: ₹3600 per acre per year
Apart from this, the government is also providing separate funds for organic seed management.
Participation of rural women: Increasing awareness through ‘Krishi Sakhis’
Yogi government has ensured the participation of rural women in the promotion of natural farming. Women have been appointed as ‘Krishi Sakhi’ in Prayagraj division. Their job is to tell and train farmers about the benefits of natural farming. After receiving training in 13 farmer development centres, Krishi Sakhis have started work. The government is also giving him an honorarium of ₹ 5000 per month for this work.