Chandigarh, June 6 (IANS) In a major push to promote natural farming on a large scale in Haryana and raise awareness among farmers, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday announced the establishment of natural and organic markets in Gurugram and Hisar.

The Gurugram market will cater to the production of wheat, paddy and pulses, while the Hisar one will focus on fruits and vegetables grown through natural and organic methods. In addition, a committee will be formed under the Haryana Kisan Kalyan Pradhikaran to determine fair pricing for produce grown using natural and organic farming practices, an official statement said.

The Chief Minister made these announcements while addressing the Natural Farming Conference, organised on the occasion of World Environment Day at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University in Hisar.

The Chief Minister also announced financial support of Rs 20,000 per farmer for branding and packaging of natural farming products. Dedicated laboratories will also be established to test produce from natural and organic farming. These labs will offer testing services free of cost to farmers.

The Chief Minister announced that 53 acres belonging to the Agriculture Department in Pundri block in Kaithal district will be leased to farmers engaged in natural farming through an auction process. Also, he said that in every panchayat, 10 per cent of panchayat land or at least one acre will be reserved exclusively for natural farming. This land will be allotted only to landless farmers via auction.

As an additional incentive, those who will practice natural farming on government or panchayat land will also receive Rs 3,000 per farmer for purchasing four drums used in storing and processing raw materials under the Natural Farming Scheme.

A subsidy of Rs 30,000 will also be provided for the purchase of a ‘desi’ cow.

CM Saini said people across the globe are pledging to conserve air, water and soil, and exploring ways to make them pollution-free. In this context, he emphasised that natural farming offers a sustainable solution to these pressing environmental challenges. He added that natural farming will not only provide a new direction to agriculture in Haryana but also serve as an inspiration for the entire country.

–IANS

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