Machilipatnam: Krishna district collector DK Balaji has called upon farmers and SHG women to shift their focus towards natural farming to ensure sustainable agriculture and higher incomes. He said farmers should not only sell milk from indigenous cows but also generate additional income by preparing puja materials using cow dung and cow urine.

On Sunday, the collector, along with his family, visited a natural farming unit at Pinaguduru Lanka in Guduru mandal, run under the guidance of progressive farmer Mekapothula Vijaya Ram Guruji. He inspected the “Saubhagyam” food model and observed various value-added products such as dried drumstick leaves processed using solar dryers, incense sticks, and dung cakes made from cow dung.

The collector was informed that apart from milk, an additional income of about Rs 300 per day could be earned from cow dung products from a single cow. The farm organisers also explained that cow urine is being used to make shampoos, which help prevent dandruff and hair fall. Responding positively, the Collector directed DRDA PD Hariharanath to prepare a plan under the cluster economy policy to train SHG women farmers in making cow dung-based products and facilitate their sale at temples, crematoriums, and through online platforms like ONDC.

Later, the Collector inspected traditional oil extraction through a wooden Ghani and participated as the chief guest in natural farming training programmes conducted for farmers from Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, and Visakhapatnam districts. Addressing the gathering, he cited examples from recent floods and cyclones, stating that crops grown through natural farming recovered quickly, unlike chemically fertilised crops, which suffered heavy losses.

He cautioned against excessive use of chemical fertilizers, calling them harmful to soil and human health, and predicted growing demand for natural produce in the coming years. He urged farmers to adopt natural farming methods to secure better yields and incomes.

DRDA PD Hariharanath, District Horticulture Officer J Jyothi, Agriculture AD Manidhar, Guduru Tahsildar Rajyalakshmi, and several farmers attended the programme.