Coimbatore- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that India is on the path to becoming a global hub for organic farming, stressing that it is the country's core and traditional culture. After the NDA's landslide victory in Bihar, Modi, seeing the audience waving gamchas on his arrival, said that it felt as if the winds of Bihar had reached Tamil Nadu before them.
Addressing the farmers, Prime Minister Modi said, "When I came on stage here, I saw many farmers waving their gamchas in the wind. I felt as if the winds of Bihar had reached here before me." Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Natural farming is a subject very close to my heart. I heartily congratulate all the farmers of Tamil Nadu for organising this wonderful South India Natural Farming Summit. I was visiting the exhibition and got a chance to interact with many farmers." Some have done mechanical engineering, done PhDs, and are now farming; some have left NASA to take up farming. They are grooming and training many young people.
The Prime Minister added, "I publicly admit that if I had not come to this event, I would have missed a lot in my life. By coming here today, I have learned a lot. I salute the courage of the farmers of Tamil Nadu, their ability to embrace change." Modi said, "In the coming years, I can see many big changes happening in Indian agriculture. India is on the path to becoming a global hub for organic farming. Our biodiversity is taking a new form, and the youth of the country are looking at agriculture as a modern, comprehensive opportunity. This will give a big boost to the rural economy of the country."
Prime Minister Modi said, "In the last 11 years, there has been a profound change in the entire agriculture sector of the country. Our agricultural exports have almost doubled. To modernize agriculture, the government has opened all avenues to support farmers." Prime Minister Modi said that natural farming is very close to his heart. Expansion of natural farming in 21st century agriculture is the need of the hour. In recent years, the use of chemicals in fields and various areas related to agriculture has increased rapidly due to increasing demand.
The Prime Minister said that excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has reduced soil fertility, affected soil moisture and increased the cost of farming year after year. He stressed that the solution to this problem lies in crop diversification and natural farming to solve soil-related problems. He said that organic farming also helps in tackling the challenges of climate change.