Mumbai: Concerned about side-effects of
chemicals on farming lands, Maharashtra Government has taken
an initiative to encourage organic farming in the state and
come up with a policy draft for the purpose.
"Repeated use of fertilisers and pesticides have
reduced fertility of the land. Crop productivity has also been
affected and therefore the Government has come up with a
policy on organic farming," an official from Agriculture
Department said.
The Government intends to bring 10 lakh hectre of land
under organic farming till 2015 against 6.50 lakh hectre at
present, the official said.
The draft said that the organic farming where farmers
would use local natural resources as fertilisers and would
shun chemicals will help improve the quality of land and
reduce pollution of water and air.
The use of organic fertilisers like vermicompost and
local plants including Neem has been suggested in the draft.
It recommends intense research in the field by setting up
sections on organic farming in all the four agriculture
universities in the state.
PTI
