Himachal Pradesh News
Natural farming data to be linked with Him Parivar portal by Jan 20: CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday directed the Agriculture Department to link comprehensive data of farmers practising natural farming with the Him Parivar Portal by January 20, enabling the creation of a block-level database for effective planning and monitoring.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday directed the Agriculture Department to link comprehensive data of farmers practising natural farming with the Him Parivar Portal by January 20, enabling the creation of a block-level database for effective planning and monitoring.
Presiding over a meeting of the Agriculture Department, the Chief Minister said the initiative would help map natural farming across the state and encourage greater participation, particularly among youth, to strengthen the rural economy. He said the government was introducing revolutionary changes in the natural farming system to boost farmers’ incomes and improve the resilience of the agrarian economy. Sukhu also announced that he would interact with natural farming practitioners at a conference to be held later this month in Hamirpur.
During the meeting, the CM reviewed issues related to wheat, maize and raw turmeric produced through natural farming. He said wheat flour was being marketed as Him Chakki Atta, maize flour as Him Bhog Makki Atta and raw turmeric as Him Haldi. He directed that expiry dates and nutritional values be clearly mentioned on packaging and ordered the formation of a special unit to assess nutritional content.
Sukhu said 606.8 metric tonnes of naturally grown maize had been procured, with Rs 2.31 crore transferred directly to farmers’ bank accounts. Similarly, 2,123 quintals of naturally grown wheat had been procured at the minimum support price through Direct Benefit Transfer. He added that encouraging results were also being seen after fixing a support price of Rs 90 per kg for naturally grown raw turmeric, with procurement of around 2,422 quintals from 1,629 farmers estimated this year.
The Chief Minister further said the Agriculture Department was practising natural farming on its 25 farms across the state and emphasised the need for stronger marketing strategies. Agriculture Minister Prof Chander Kumar also offered suggestions during the meeting.
