Reduce use of pesticides, fertilizers, move towards organic farming: Shah advises cultivators

Rajkot, Sep 22 (PTI) Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Monday urged farmers to reduce the use of fertilisers and pesticides, and instead adopt organic farming, noting the government is making arrangements to ensure cultivators taking up environment-friendly practices earn greater profits.

Shah, who also holds the home portfolio, affirmed Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a big Navratri and Diwali gift to farmers by reducing GST on equipment and items used by them.

The new GST rates, having two broad rates -- 5 per cent and 18 per cent -- came into effect from Monday (September 22), the first day of the Navratri festival.

Addressing a gathering of agriculturists here after attending the annual general meeting of seven cooperative organisations of Gujarat's Rajkot district, Shah said, "Today, I have come to appeal to all Saurashtra farmers to reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers, and move towards organic farming. India is going to bring a large share of the global market for organic products to farmers here." "The Indian government is making arrangements to ensure farmers who practice organic farming receive greater profits," he declared.

Notably, organic cultivation involves avoiding the use of synthetically produced agro-inputs like fertilizers, pesticides, and instead using natural resources such as organic waste and beneficial microorganisms to increase production while preserving the environment and ecology.

The Union minister maintained many initiatives have been launched to boost the cooperative sector.

The "Bharat Organics" (a brand of products launched by National Cooperative Organics Ltd) has been set up to ensure farmers benefit from selling such commodities, he said.

"A cooperative has been set up to procure organic products from farmers and sell them, ensuring they receive full benefits. A new export and seed cooperative has also been established," Shah informed the gathering.

Shah pointed out that under the leadership of PM Modi, the Tribhuvandas Patel Cooperative University was set up at Anand in Gujarat to impart education in all disciplines in the cooperative sector.

The Cooperative Ministry has taken 60 initiatives in the last three years, including plans to strengthen PACS (Primary Agricultural Credit Societies), its computerization, and various new steps for setting up warehouses for cooperative mandalis (associations), Shah stated.

"As a result, the cooperative structure across the country, which had been declining for four decades, levelled off in the first year of this three-year period, and strengthened by 12 per cent in the next two years," he said.

Shah noted new cooperative societies, milk unions, and societies that profit from processing milk have sprung up across the country, and a computerized system has been put in place in Gujarat to ensure farmers earn decent profits.

He said under the "Cooperation Among Cooperatives" initiative, a pilot project launched in Gujarat's Banaskantha and Panchmahal districts is being adopted across the state.

Earlier in the day, the Union minister laid the foundation stone for the ISKCON Varachha Temple, to be built in an area of 3.51 lakh square feet at a cost of Rs 101 crore at Kosmada in Surat district. PTI KA PD RSY