Vijayawada: Union Minister of state for agriculture and farmers welfare Ramnath Thakur said Central government is actively promoting natural farming across the country through the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF). He said over 14.32 lakh farmers have registered under the mission, covering 5.45 lakh hectares of agricultural land nationwide.
Responding to a question raised in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday by MPs Kesineni Sivanath and Daggubati Prasad Rao, the Union minister of state provided a written reply detailing the progress of the mission.
He said in Andhra Pradesh 37,387 farmers have registered their names under NMNF, with natural farming being practised on 5,699.2 hectares. The state has received an allocation of Rs.1,099.20 crore of which Rs.549.60 crore has already been released. The Union minister further stated that the state has also established 2,522 Natural Farming Clusters, and conducted 52 Farmer Field School (FFS) training programs to equip farmers with sustainable farming techniques.
Additionally, 112 Local Natural Farming Institutions (LNFIs) in Andhra Pradesh have been selected as Model Knowledge Dissemination Centres, all operated by experienced and skilled farmers. However, the Minister clarified that no Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) in the state has been selected as a model center under this initiative.
The minister said the core objectives of the National Mission on Natural Farming include increasing awareness about natural farming practices, reducing chemical usage in agriculture, promoting environmental sustainability, lowering input costs for farmers and improving soil health and fertility.
