Natural farming could help double farmers' income: Rawat

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat Thursday said natural farming could be an effective tool to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream of doubling farmers' income by 2022.

After inaugurating a workshop on zero budget natural farming here, Rawat said agriculture continues to be the main source of livelihood in India, with 64 per cent of the country's population dependent on it.

"We need to focus on reducing the cost of production and increasing the yield to achieve the prime minister's vision of doubling the income of farmers by 2022," the chief minister said.

The Palekar model of zero budget natural farming could be an effective instrument to achieve the goal of doubling the income of farmers by 2022, he said, adding it could be especially effective in hilly areas where bio waste is more easily available for preparing compost.

It will reduce the production cost burden on farmers and increase high quality yield. Zero budget natural farming model of Palekar is a method of farming where the cost of growing and harvesting plant is zero.

The Subhash Palekar model advocates farming without the use ofchemical fertilizers and pesticides, which gradually harm the fertility of the soil.