Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Central Government aims to foster a culture of shared responsibility in agricultural governance rather than merely announcing schemes.
File Photo: IANS
Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Central Government aims to foster a culture of shared responsibility in agricultural governance rather than merely announcing schemes.
He was addressing the two-day National Kharif Conference held on May 28–29 at the PUSA campus in New Delhi.
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“The conference concluded with a collective commitment to improve farmers’ lives and strengthen the agricultural sector through coordinated action and effective implementation,” the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare said on Saturday.
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In a historic first for Indian agriculture, Agriculture Ministers from 22 states came together on a common platform during the two-day conference at the PUSA campus, one of the country’s premier agricultural research institutions.
Far more than a routine review meeting, the conference emerged as a national forum for commitment, coordination, and effective ground-level implementation.
Chaired by Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the first day featured extensive deliberations among senior officials from state agriculture and horticulture departments.
On the second day, Chouhan remained present throughout the proceedings as state Agriculture Ministers participated in an unprecedented extended discussion that continued into the evening. Together, they formulated a common roadmap on key issues, including Kharif preparedness, self-reliance in pulses and oilseeds, balanced fertilizer use, natural farming, and the proposed ‘Khet Bachao Abhiyan’.
One of the most significant outcomes of the conference was the commitment by Agriculture Ministers, following Chouhan’s appeal, to not only support natural farming at the policy level but also adopt and experiment with it on their own farms. The move is intended to lead by example and inspire greater confidence among farmers.
The Union Minister clarified that the objective is not to completely eliminate the use of chemical fertilizers but to promote their scientific, balanced, and judicious application. To achieve this, he called for a nationwide awareness campaign and an institutional movement.
Accordingly, the conference proposed that the Khet Bachao Abhiyan be developed as a joint national initiative involving the Central Government, State Governments, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), agricultural universities, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), and the wider scientific community.
Chouhan also stressed the need to establish coordinated implementation mechanisms, robust monitoring systems, and dedicated control rooms to ensure that the campaign goes beyond appeals and delivers measurable outcomes on the ground.
Another major development was the public commitment by state Agriculture Ministers to personally adopt natural farming practices on their own farms.
Since many Agriculture Ministers are themselves engaged in farming, the decision carries practical significance rather than being merely symbolic.
Chouhan emphasized that when policymakers and public representatives demonstrate natural farming models themselves—even on a small scale—the message becomes more credible and motivating for farmers across the country.
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