Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Natural farming is making steady progress in the country and farmers in Odisha should also opt for it to maintain the fertility of the soil and improve agricultural production as stated by Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
According to the reports, while addressing the Argus Agri Vikas Conclave 2022 here, Tomar said the Centre will extend all support to the farmers in practicing the traditional farming method which is free from any fertilizer or chemical use. He said after the success of chemical and organic farming in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also been emphasizing natural farming.
“In December last year, the Prime Minister launched a natural farming mission. Currently, natural farming is being successfully done on more than 4 lakh hectares across the country and farmers have immensely benefited from it. Farmers will be sensitized and the plan is to increase the coverage to 38 lakh hectares,” Tomar said.
“Over 24,000 hectares of agricultural land in Odisha falls under natural farming. I will appeal to farmers from Odisha to go for natural farming. Centre will stand shoulder to shoulder with them,” he added.
Tomar further stated that despite the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, India’s agriculture sector recorded a growth of 3.9 percent which was possible due to the agriculture-friendly policies of the Centre and the hard labor of the farming community. The use of technology in agriculture is also being promoted to boost production and increase the growth rate. Digital Agri Mission is a step in this direction where the use of the mobile applications, AI, and drone technology is being encouraged.
The Minister added Centre will be spending Rs 6,865 crore to give hand-holding support to small and marginal farmers to scale up their operations using technology. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) DG Trilochan Mohapatra said technology interventions can propel Odisha’s growth in the agriculture sector to double-digit.
