Natural farming boosting rural economy

Shimla

· Naturally grown produces to be procured from 63000 farmers this year

Natural farming in Himachal Pradesh is steadily emerging as a strong pillar of the rural economy under the state government’s ambitious Rajiv Gandhi Prakritik Kheti Khushhal Kisan Yojana. The scheme is bringing economic, social and environmental transformation to thousands of farming and horticulture families across the state.

At a time when climate change, rising input costs, declining soil fertility and crop losses due to the wild animal menace are creating challenges for traditional agriculture, natural farming has emerged as a sustainable and profitable alternative for farmers.

The state government’s historic decision to provide Minimum Support Price (MSP) for naturally grown produce has further strengthened farmer’s confidence. Himachal Pradesh has become the first state in the country to fix MSP for crops grown through natural farming, ensuring protection to farmers against market uncertainties and encouraging more cultivators to adopt this practice.

The Agriculture Department has set a target of linking one lakh new farmers with the Him Parivar Register during the current year. So far, over 70,000 farmers have already been connected with the register, achieving nearly 70 percent of the target. The registration process is aimed at ensuring transparent and direct delivery of benefits of government schemes to farmers.

The Chief Minister has directed officials to further increase the number of MSP beneficiaries in the coming years so that economic prosperity reaches to the villages and strengthens the rural economy. The core objective of the initiative is to ensure that money generated in villages remains within the village economy.’

At present, 2,23,029 farming and horticulture families in the state have adopted natural farming either fully or partially and the practice has now expanded to 99.3 percent gram panchayats of the State.

In the Budget for 2026-27, the state government announced a major increase in MSP rates for naturally grown crops. Wheat cultivated through natural farming is now being procured at Rs. 80 per kilogram, maize at Rs. 50 per kilogram, raw turmeric at Rs. 150 per kilogram, barley from Pangi Valley at Rs. 80 per kilogram and ginger at Rs. 30 per kilogram.

Under the scheme, the government has procured 11,329 quintals of wheat, maize, turmeric and barley from 7,382 farmers so far, while Rs. 6.40 crore has been directly transferred into farmer’s bank accounts. The Agriculture Department has set a target to procure the naturally grown produce from around 63,000 farmers of the state during this year.

Wheat procurement has witnessed a remarkable increase. While wheat was procured from 838 farmers last year, the number has almost doubled this year to around 2,022 farmers at the MSP rate of Rs. 80 per kilogram. The government believes that MSP is not merely the price of crops but also the price of farmer’s confidence, encouraging even small and marginal farmers to adopt natural farming as a secure and profitable livelihood option.

The state government is also focusing on value addition processing and effective marketing of naturally grown produce. From last year’s procurement, 420 quintals of wheat flour, 1,370 quintals of porridge products, 1,628 quintals of maize flour and 59 quintals of barley flour were processed and marketed through the Food Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd. and the Agriculture Department. This would ensure better returns to farmers and strengthening the rural economy of the state.