New Delhi, December 3: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday appealed to the countrymen to adopt and promote natural farming.
He said that it not only reduces the cost of farming but also improves soil health, protects the environment, and increases farmers’ income.
In his official LinkedIn post, the Prime Minister shared a detailed article in which he shared his experience of attending the recent South India Natural Farming Summit 2025 in Coimbatore and his views on the potential of natural farming in India.
The Prime Minister mentioned in the article that a few months ago, a group of farmers from Tamil Nadu met him and explained their innovative methods of natural farming. During this time, they invited him to the Natural Farming Summit in Coimbatore.
Prime Minister accepted the farmers’ invitation and attended the conference on November 19. He said that the holding of such a major event on natural farming in Coimbatore, traditionally considered an MSME hub, reflects the agricultural world’s new thinking, renewed confidence, and future direction.
In his address, the Prime Minister stated that natural farming is a synthesis of India’s ancient agricultural wisdom tradition and modern ecological principles. It involves cultivating crops without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. In natural farming, crops, trees, and livestock are allowed to grow symbiotically in the same field, enhancing biodiversity and soil fertility. Recycling farm residues, mulching, and the use of natural nutrients improve soil quality in the long term.
Citing the inspiring stories of the farmers and agri-entrepreneurs he met at the conference, the Prime Minister wrote that people from diverse backgrounds—scientists, young graduates, FPO heads, traditional farmers, and even those who returned to farming after leaving high-paying corporate jobs—are establishing new models in the field of natural farming.
He said that one farmer practices multi-layer farming of bananas, coconuts, papaya, pepper, and turmeric on 10 acres, and also maintains 60 indigenous cows, 400 goats, and indigenous poultry. Another farmer is preserving indigenous rice varieties like “Mappilli Samba” and “Karuppu Kavuni” and making value-added products from them—health mixes, puffed rice, chocolates, and protein bars.
A first-generation graduate farmer operates natural farming on 15 acres and has trained over 3,000 farmers, while his group supplies 30 tons of vegetables each month. Some FPO operators have helped cassava (tapioca) farmers and promoted cassava-based products as a source of green energy, such as bioethanol and compressed biogas.
The Prime Minister wrote that the many agricultural innovators he met at the conference are proof that large-scale agricultural transformation is possible by combining science and sustainability. For example, an entrepreneur producing seaweed-based biofertilizer has employed 600 fishermen. Another expert has developed nutrient-rich biochar, which improves soil quality and water retention capacity.
In his article, the Prime Minister also mentioned the government’s efforts that are playing a vital role in promoting natural farming. The National Mission on Natural Farming, launched last year, has already engaged millions of farmers. Natural farming is being adopted on thousands of hectares of land across the country. He said that measures such as PM-KISAN, expansion of credit facilities, promotion of exports, and extension of Kisan Credit Cards to animal husbandry and fisheries are providing momentum towards natural farming. He also said that natural farming is deeply linked to the national commitment to promote ‘Shri Anna’ (millets), and it is heartening to see a large number of women farmers leading this movement.
Prime Minister cautioned that excessive reliance on chemical fertilizers and pesticides over the past few decades has adversely affected soil fertility, moisture, and long-term sustainability, while also steadily increasing the cost of farming. Natural farming offers solutions to all these challenges. Traditional practices like Panchagavya, Jeevamrit, Beejamrit, and mulching improve soil health, make crops more resilient to climate change and erratic weather, and reduce costs.
He urged farmers to start with the “one acre, one season” approach. Positive results at a small scale will give confidence for large-scale adoption. He said that when traditional knowledge, scientific research, and institutional support come together, natural farming becomes a viable and transformative model.
The Prime Minister urged the countrymen to join natural farming through FPOs or explore opportunities to establish startups in this field. He said that the confluence of farmers, science, entrepreneurship, and collective effort witnessed in Coimbatore is deeply inspiring and will give a new direction to India’s agriculture and allied sectors in the future.
The Prime Minister concluded by saying that if any individual or group is doing innovative work on natural farming, they must inform him about it, so that such efforts can be encouraged at the national level.