Over 4 lakh hectares brought under natural farming in 8 states: Govt

New Delhi, Aug 8 (PTI) About 4.09 lakh hectares have been brought under natural farming in eight states with Andhra Pradesh leading the group, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in Parliament on Tuesday.

The eight states are Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Tamil Nadu, the minister said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

The Centre is promoting natural farming since 2019-20 through a sub-scheme, Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati (BPKP), under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana.

“So far, 4.09 lakh hectare area has been brought under natural farming in 8 states,” Tomar said.

About 1 lakh hectares have been brought under natural farming in Andhra Pradesh, 99,000 hectares in Madhya Pradesh, 85,000 hectares in Chhattisgarh, 84,000 hectares in Kerala, 24,000 hectares in Odisha, 12,000 hectares in Himachal Pradesh, 3,400 hectares in Jharkhand, and 2,000 hectares in Tamil Nadu, he said.

Natural farming is chemical-free and based on the integrated agriculture and animal husbandry approach using livestock and local resources. The method relies on on-farm biomass recycling with major stress on biomass mulching, and the use of on-farm cow dung-urine formulations from local livestock.