Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called for the adaptation of agriculture according to new requirements, new challenges of the journey till the 100th year of independence and urged the farmers to shift their focus from 'chemistry laboratory experiments' and connect it with the 'natural farming' methods.
The Prime Minister said that those who will benefit the most from natural farming, constitute about 80 percent of the farmers of the country. “Those small farmers, who have less than 2 hectares of land. Most of these farmers spend a lot on chemical fertilizers. If they turn to natural farming, their condition will be better”, PM Modi said.
Addressing the summit on natural and zero-budget farming being held at Anand, in Gujarat through video conference, the PM Modi said, "In the past 7 years, with 'Beej se leke, bazaar tak' we have introduced several reforms to modernise the Indian Krishi sector with technology and reviving organic ways to protect mother nature."
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar were present on the occasion,
"The time has come to shift our focus from 'Chemistry lab experiments' to natural farming methods in the agriculture sector to support our environment. 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," the Prime Minister said.
PM Modi said today the more modern the world is becoming, the more it is moving towards 'back to basics'. “It means connecting with your roots. Who understands this better than all of you farmer friends? The more we water the roots, the more the plant grows”, PM Modi said. “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”, he said.
“There is no doubt that fertilisers led to green revolution. But this is also true that we have to keep working on alternatives. The main reason for this is we have to import fertilisers for other countries, which increases the cost of farming. Hence, there is a need to be aware (about natural farming),” PM Modi said.
Citing the prevalent notions of burning crop residue, Modi also expressed concern over the issue of stubble burning, saying the practice would actually harm the productivity of the agricultural land. He said time has now come to "correct the mistakes" that have become part of farming. He said that this happens despite experts having established that by setting fire to the field, the earth loses its fertile capacity.
"It is a fact that fertilizers have played a crucial role in the green revolution. But it is also imperative to work on their alternatives. It is the right time to take big steps before the issues related to farming become severe," the PM said.