Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has said that every farmer practising natural farming should be treated as a national treasure and should be rewarded. The State governments which are encouraging natural farming should be given suitable weightage in the recommendations of the Finance Commission, Mr. Jagan said during a virtual meeting on “Natural Farming”, organised by the Niti Aayog as part of Azadi Ki Amrut Mahostav.
“The Government of Andhra Pradesh is setting up an Indo-German Global Academy on Agroecology Research and Learning (IGGAARL) with €20 million funded by Germany. The centre will offer technological support to those practising natural farming. I urge the Central government to bear 90% of the cost of natural farming,” Mr. Jagan said.
Beginning his address with references to the Green Revolution, Mr. Jagan said that farm productivity had gone up by leaps and bounds due to innovative practices. The time had come to decrease dependency on chemical fertilizers and pesticides and to encourage natural farming.
