Gujarat CM talks to farmers during Krish Mahotsav through videoconferencing
Centre deprives Gujarat its quota of chemical fertilizers; Gujarat encourages organic farming and compost: Narendra Modi
Ahmedabad, Tuesday: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today asked the farmers to adopt organic farming and greater use of organic fertilizers in the wake of rising global demand for organic crops.Talking to farmers on the occasion of Krishi Mahotsav-2012 through videoconferencing, he said that farmers are being told how to prepare organic compost fertilizers from the bacteria that thrive in the moisture injected into the soil through drip irrigation.
He said that crops need 17 inputs, like water and fertilizers. He advocated optimum use of fertilizers, besides other inputs. He said that distribution of soil health cards have also helped farmers choose the right crop for maximum output in given soil and climate conditions. This way, he said, the government has saved crores of rupees on fertilizers.
Referring to the Centre’s selective anti-Gujarat policies, the Chief Minister said the Centre has so far allotted just four lakh tons of fertilizers during the current year as against six lakh tons. The state has received 30,000 tons less urea and 1.25-lakh tons less DAP. However, he said, the State Government created a fund of Rs.20-crore to let three government companies procure fertilizers from other sources to fill in the gap.
He said that the Centre has also reduced the subsidy on fertilizers by Rs.6,000 per ton, which was earlier Rs.19,800 per ton. He regretted that Centre could not check global fertilizer manufacturers’ carteland instead punish Indian farmers. The centre failed to increase fertilizer production also, particularly that of DAP by importing potash from countries having rock potash.
