GANDHINAGAR: Making a fervent pitch for organic farming, Union home and cooperation minister Amit Shah asked Amul to work towards creating a network to market organic produce of farmers. He said that although the task is difficult, it will give farmers a fair price for their produce and reduce the country’s dependency on fertilizers.
“I know this is not an easy task, but I want to tell the Amul team, someone has to take up this difficult work. When Tribhovandas Patel began the task (of organising cattle rearers) it was a difficult task,” Shah remarked.
He added that, if required, the Centre was willing to assist financially. “If certain investment is necessary, bring a scheme. We will take it before the PM and bring about a solution,” the Union cooperation minister said.
“There is a serious problem in the country because of fertilizers. It is damaging the soil. The prevalence of fertilizers has increased so much, that it is causing damage to the bodies of citizens,” said Shah
He added that too much fertilizers is causing cancer and other serious ailments among people. “Organic farming products are good for both the health of people as well as the soil. “A large number farmers have realized this and adopted organic farming. But the main problem is that the farmers are not getting fair price for their produce,” the minister said.
Providing examples, Shah said that organic wheat and wheat grown with the help of fertilizers are sold at the same price in the market and potatoes grown through organic farming fetch the same price as those grown by using fertilizers.
“In some parts of the country and the world, there is an arrangement where farmers get up to three times the price if they grow crops using organic method,” said Shah, adding that about 2 lakh farmers in Gujarat have taken up organic farming, using cow dung and other natural nutrients for plants. “It will be difficult for these farmers to give up this experiment and the only way to increase the number of farmers taking up organic farming is by helping them get their right price for their produce,” Shah said.
