Gujarat Governor bats for natural farming, says over 9.75 L farmers opted for it

Explaining the process, Devvrat said, “The farmer working on the cluster should have at least one desi cow and a model natural farm. Along with the farmer, we are also working on handholding the women in the village through krishi-sakhi (agriculture friend).”

Last year, the Gujarat government had shared data on the percentage of farmers practising natural farming increasing from 35,000 in 2019 to 8,71,316 in 2023, which is now up to 9,75,761 — the last figure shared by the Governor.

According to Governor Devvrat, times had changed since the father of the green revolution, Dr MS Swaminathan, emphasised on organic farming to bring about food security.

He said the need now was to spread the use of natural farming, at the centre of which is the “desi Indian cow”. He said, “During those days, the spread of agricultural land was less as there were more forests. But now (agricultural land) has increased as has technology, availability of irrigation and power supply.”

Detailing the benefits of indigenous cows, he said, “One gram of dung of the desi cow has the potential to produce 300-500 crore of microorganisms, while Holstein breed’s single gram could produce 18 lakh microorganisms.”

Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for launching the National Mission on Natural Farming, Governor Devvrat said, “Use of pesticides and chemicals is not only destroying human health but also the earth where, in the natural process, the microorganisms and the earthworms till and nourish (the soil).”

Showing videos of his 180-acre farm in Kurukshetra, Haryana, swarming with “earthworms the size of snakes”, Governor Devvrat said once the farmers adopt natural farming, “these earthworms, which are dormant in the soil, will rise again.”

Sharing his concoction for natural manure, the Governor said he prepares it with a mix of cow dung, jaggery, gram flour and soil taken from the base of a large tree in a 200-litre drum.

“Within 72 hours, the microorganisms in the mix doubled… and in seven days, the manure is ready to feed one acre of farmland,” said the Governor. According to him, under the organic farming process, an acre would require 300 quintals of dung, “which would also produce more methane” that contributes to global warming.

Devvrat took charge as the Governor in July 2019 and is currently the chancellor of the Gujarat Vidyapith, where he recently tweaked the scope of the annual ‘padyatra’ undertaken by the students to cover all 18,000 villages of the state and spread the message of natural farming.