Farmers told to go in for natural farming

Eluru: West Godavari District Collector K Bhaskar directed the officials concerned to prepare a comprehensive action plan to take up natural farming in one lakh acres in the district after giving training to 5,000 farmers.

Addressing a meeting on priority sectors held here on Wednesday, the Collector said that by next kharif season, natural farming should be taken up on 15,000 hectares of farm lands in the district and asked the officials to identify the farmers for this farming.

He said that the officials should take the farmers, who were identified, to the natural farming centres to create awareness on it. The Collector regretted that the rise in the use of chemical fertilisers, was leading to cancer in large number of people in the district. As such, farmers should turn to natural farming, he added.

Collector Bhaskar said that at present, natural farming was being taken up in 4,000 hectares and in future, this should be enhanced to one lakh hectares. He said that in Nagarjuna University, a nine-day training camp on natural farming would be held for farmers from December 31 to January 8. About 300 farmers from West Godavari would be participating in the training programme, he added. District Joint Collector, NABARD District Manager Rama Prabhu, LDM Suryarao and others were present.