1L HP farmers to join natural farming drive in 2026: CM

Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh govt has set an ambitious target to bring one lakh farmers under natural farming during 2026, as part of its sustained push to promote eco-friendly and cost-effective agricultural practices, said chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday.He said the agriculture department was actively encouraging farmers to adopt natural farming, which reduced input costs while increasing profitability. So far, 2.22 lakh farmer and horticulturist families in the state have already embraced this method. Natural farming practices have now reached 99.3% of panchayats and are being carried out on 38,437 hectares of land. Over two lakh farmers engaged in natural farming have been registered, out of which 1.98 lakh have received certification, he added. Under the Prakritik Kheti Khushhal Kisan Yojana, the use of chemical inputs is discouraged, while indigenous resources such as cow dung, cow urine and local plant materials are promoted. The scheme aims to conserve the environment, encourage crop diversification and reduce cultivation costs. Highlighting financial incentives, Sukhu said the state was offering highest minimum support price (MSP) in the country for naturally grown produce. This year, MSP for wheat has been raised to Rs 80 per kg, maize to Rs 50, barley from Pangi Valley to Rs 80 and turmeric to Rs 150 per kg. He added that the Pangi sub division has been declared the state's first fully natural farming sub division, while ginger has also been included under MSP at Rs 30 per kg. Additionally, procurement prices of cow milk and buffalo milk have been increased to Rs 61 and Rs 71 per litre, respectively. Sukhu noted that agriculture remains central to the state's economy, supporting a majority of the rural population and contributing significantly to the state gross domestic product.