South India living varsity of agriculture: PM Modi

Coimbatore, Nov 19 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi, backing organic farming, on Wednesday said South India has been a living university of agriculture.

Inaugurating the South India Natural Farming Summit 2025 here, the PM noted that Coimbatore region is home to some of the world's oldest functioning dams, and that the Kalingarayan canal was built here in the 13th century. The temple tanks in this region became models of decentralized water conservation systems and this land pioneered scientific water engineering thousands of years ago by regulating river water for agriculture.

He expressed confidence that leadership in natural farming for the country and the world will also emerge from this very region.

Building a futuristic agricultural ecosystem for a developed India requires collective effort, the Prime Minister said and urged farmers to begin and practice "One acre, one season" of natural farming and to move forward based on the results they observe.

He appealed to scientists and research institutions to make natural farming a core part of the agricultural curriculum, encouraging them to treat farmers’ fields as living laboratories.

"Our goal must be to make natural farming a fully science-backed movement", emphasised the Prime Minister.

He underlined the vital role of state governments and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) in this campaign.

Over the past few years, 10,000 FPOs have been formed in the country and with their support, small farmer clusters can be created, equipped with facilities for cleaning, packaging, and processing, and directly linked to online markets like e-NAM.

When traditional knowledge, scientific strength, and government support come together, farmers will prosper and mother Earth will remain healthy.

He expressed confidence that the summit will give new direction to natural farming in the country, adding new ideas and solutions will emerge from this platform.

Governor of Tamil Nadu, R N Ravi, Union Minister, L Murugan, farmers leader PR Pandian were among those present.

South India Natural Farming Summit 2025, being held from 19 to 21 November 2025, is being organised by the Tamil Nadu Natural Farming Stakeholders Forum.

According to an official release, the summit aims to promote sustainable, eco-friendly, and chemical-free agricultural practices, and to accelerate the shift towards natural and regenerative farming as a viable, climate-smart and economically sustainable model for India’s agricultural future. PTI VGN VGN ROH