UP Govt Plans Rs 2,500 Cr Push For Natural Farming

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday said it plans to bring over 2.5 lakh farmers into the fold of natural farming across 282 blocks and 2,144 gram panchayats with investments of more than Rs2,500 crore over the next two years.

The alarming rise of heavy metals in agricultural soil has emerged as a major crisis for the farming sector, the state government said in a statement. A global report reveals that around 15 per cent of the world's cultivable land is contaminated with toxic heavy metals, affecting 1.4 billion people. Harmful elements like arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, nickel, and lead have reached alarming proportions in many regions.

According to biologists from the University of York, these metals enter the food chain through soil, water, and air, posing long-term health risks to humans, animals, and aquatic life, the statement said. "In view of the looming threat, the central and Uttar Pradesh governments led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath are promoting organic and natural farming.

These practices are not only chemical-free but also sustainable, climate-resilient, and environmentally friendly. "The Yogi Adityanath government plans to bring over 2.5 lakh farmers into the fold of natural farming across 282 blocks and 2,144 gram panchayats. The initiative will be implemented through 50-hectare clusters, with an estimated investment of Rs2,500 crore over the next two years," the government said. The government noted that natural farming is people-friendly, land-friendly, and water-friendly. After successful implementation in Bundelkhand, along the Ganga's coastal areas, natural farming is now being expanded to both banks of its tributaries, it said.