ICAR to study impact of 'yogic farming' on productivity

India's premier agricultural research institute is planning to conduct a study on 'yogic farming', an agriculture practice using meditation as one of the means to improve productivity.
Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) in Goa is contemplating the possibility of developing a plot of land using the yogic farming practice, in association with Prajapita Brahmakumari Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya (PBIVV), a spiritual organisation.
A senior ICAR researcher said that a plot can be developed using yogic farming on experimental basis so that the experts can study the impact of meditation on plants and their growth.
"ICAR will have to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with PBIVV to conduct studies on this type of farming," he said.

The ICAR recently hosted a seminar on yogic farming by PBIVV, where farmers were informed about the technique.
"A farm plot has already been developed at state agriculture department's zonal agricultural office in Mapusa town. The results are encouraging," said Brahmakumari Shobha, heading PBIVV's activities in Goa.

She said that the energy produced from meditation is transferred to the land, which results in increasing yield of crops and also good quality of fruits.
"This is a proven technique," she said, adding that ICAR giving a certificate for the same will work for further betterment of this ancient technique.
Yogic farming includes the use of organic manure for the plants and also meditation by the farmer, she said.

Balasaheb Rugge, a farmer and PBIVV follower, said that he along with 70 other farmers in Kolhapur have already shifted to yogic farming in their area.
"Total 300 acres of land has been brought under the yogic farming cultivation," he said.
The farmers have been practising yogic technique since 2004, and more farmers are adding every year, he claimed.
In Goa, farmers from areas like Cotigao, Gaodongri, Morpirla, Ponda, Bethorda, Nirancal and other areas are also shifting to the technique, he further claimed.