Rearing of local cows was encouraged among farmers in Chandel during a training cum exhibition on natural farming held at Modi village in Chandel district.
The programme was sponsored by the Union Agricultural and Farmers’ Welfare Ministry. It was attended by the head in charge cum subject matter specialist (SMS) of Animal Science of ICAR KVK Chandel A Ameeta Devi and the chief of Modi village Kl John as the presidium members.
In her keynote address SMS of Agronomy Kl Levish Chongloi said natural farming is a chemical-free traditional farming method and it is a diversified farming system which integrates crops, trees and livestock with functional biodiversity.
She also highlighted the benefits of adopting natural farming such as increasing production, sustainability, saving of water use, and improvement in soil health and farmland ecosystem.
Ameeta Devi in her speech emphasized and encouraged the rearing of local cows depending on their farm size for natural farming. She informed the farmers that in organic farming, bio-fertilisers and bio-pesticides are used, but zero-budget natural farming is purely dependent on cows.
As part of the event, a training programme on natural farming was conducted by experts from ICAR KVK Chandel. The resource persons of the event were Horticulture SMS Ps Lavid Anal, Plant Breeding SMS Ts Leenda Monsang, and Agricultural Engineering K Sonamani Singh.
The exhibition showcasing natural farming products and millet varieties was attended by around 68 farmers and staff of ICAR KVK Chandel.