Himachal farmers practising natural farming to get ₹33,000 grant to purchase cow

Farmers practising natural farming in Himachal Pradesh will receive a grant of ₹33,000 for buying a cow, along with a subsidy of ₹8,000 for paving the cowshed floor, ATMA official said on Thursday.

"Farmers doing natural farming in the state will be given a grant of ₹33,000 for buying a local cow besides a subsidy of ₹8,000 for paving the floor of the cowshed," said Neha Bhardwaj, Assistant Technical Manager of the Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA), during an event at Manjhiar village.

An awareness and mass sensitisation camp on natural farming was organised in Manjhiar, where Bhardwaj said that chemical fertilisers and poisonous pesticides should not be used in natural farming.

Crops produced from natural farming are safer for health and it also reduces the cost of farming. By adopting this farming, farmers can increase their income and can also contribute to environmental protection, she said.

She said that the main components of natural farming like Jeevamrit, Beejamrit, Dhanjeevamrit and indigenous pesticides can be prepared at home from the dung and urine of indigenous cows.

She also gave information about local breeds of cows like Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Rathi, Thar and Parker and also told about the Rajiv Gandhi StartUp Yojana. Pea seeds were also distributed to the farmers in the camp.