A Class 10 pass farmer from Rajasthan's Jhalawar is designing a curriculum on natural farming for students of BSc, MSc and PhD in the state agricultural universities.
Hukumchand Patidar, who hails from Rajasthan's Jhalawar was awarded Padma Shri in 2019 for his contribution to the field of natural farming.
Speaking to ANI, Patidar said that he is a member of a committee of the Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR) that comes under the Ministry of Agriculture.
"ICAR has constituted a committee to deal with the problems in agriculture and has directed to prepare a curriculum for the classes of BSc, MSc and PhD. The committee comprises a few farmers, scientists and professors. We have to give a detailed report to the government of India on the subjects that we would research. Doing so would reduce the expenditure in agriculture," Patidar toldhoping that natural farming will solve the existing problems in India.
Patidar, who is a role model in his village in the field of farming, prepared a model after deep research and studies that would be beneficial for farming. More than 200 farmers have adopted this model and have increased productivity. More people are getting themselves connected to this model. This model is known as nature- and cattle-based organic agriculture.
"This model is discussed as a successful model in the universities of Kota, Indore and Jhalawar. Along with this, training is also given as part of education. This model is being considered for teaching in BSc, MSc, and PhD as well so that the people's perspective could be changed and they can benefit from this," he said.
Patidar said that he studied till standard 10 and dropped out to help his father in the field.
"I have studied till standard 10. I never went to school after that. But my willpower and dedication have brought me to this place which is like a dream," he said.
The idea for natural farming popped up in his mind while he worked with his father in the fields and used chemical farming as a means.
"I used to work with my father in his farming in which mostly chemical farming was done. After working in chemical farming for long, one day I thought of starting with natural farming. Because chemical farming not only harmed the crops but also the human beings besides the animals and birds. It is also not good for the health," Patidar said.
( With inputs from ANI )
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