Gandhinagar, July 1 (IANS) The Gujarat government will establish dedicated sales centres for natural farming produce at municipal corporation, municipality and taluka levels across the state as part of efforts to strengthen market access for farmers practising chemical-free agriculture.
The decision was announced after a State Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, during which Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel also appealed to citizens to devote at least one hour to voluntary cleanliness work on the first Sunday of every month.
Briefing on the Cabinet decisions, government spokesperson and Minister Jitu Vaghani said the state government had placed renewed emphasis on expanding both the cleanliness and natural farming campaigns and is committed to taking the two public initiatives to every section of society.
“The Chief Minister had called on all public representatives, citizens and voluntary organisations to participate in a monthly ‘Shramdaan for Cleanliness’ initiative. Under the appeal, people have been urged to spend at least one hour every first Sunday of the month undertaking voluntary work to improve cleanliness in their surroundings,” he added.
He said that government departments would also continue cleanliness drives in their offices and affiliated institutions to improve the cleanliness, appearance and efficiency of government workplaces.
On natural farming, Minister Vaghani said: “Gujarat had remained at the forefront of implementing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for natural farming.”
He noted that Governor Acharya Devvrat has been visiting villages, staying overnight and encouraging farmers to adopt natural farming practices, along with promoting cleanliness and tree plantation.
“The state government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, had taken an important decision to create an organised marketing system for natural farm produce,” Vaghani said.
According to the Minister, the Chief Minister had issued specific instructions to ensure that farmers practising natural farming receive fair and adequate value for their produce.
“To achieve this, the process of starting ‘Natural Farm Produce Sales Centres’ at all municipal corporations, municipalities and taluka headquarters across the state is currently underway,” Vaghani said.
He added that the Chief Minister had also instructed the Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Das during the Cabinet meeting to convene a high-level review meeting with all District Collectors and Municipal Commissioners to ensure that the necessary arrangements are made for establishing the sales centres at the earliest.
Vaghani also emphasised that public representatives across Gujarat were actively participating in the natural farming campaign and are continuously encouraging farmers to adopt chemical-free natural farming practices.
–IANS
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