Gujarat’s Dang: Model for Natural Farming in India

Oct 04, 2024

The picturesque forest region of Dang, made history in 2021 as it was declared a fully natural farming district in Gujarat under the 'Aapnu Dang, Prakrutik Dang' campaign. With government support and training, farmers in Dang have embraced natural farming practices, leading to significant improvements in their livelihoods. Yashwantbhai Sahare, a farmer from village Bhurapani, is among successful farmers from Dang, who understood the harmful effects of chemical fertilizers and with the support from the agriculture department, took steadfast training in Gujarat and other states in the nuances of natural farming, animal husbandry and on how to produce natural fertilizers. This has helped him make innovative changes and reap benefits as he grows crops, including rice, ragi or finger millet, jackfruit, black lentil and soya bean in his farms. He also trains farmers in the district with regular camps organized by the agriculture department. A senior agriculture officer said they have appointed master trainer farmers, who further spread their knowledge through different training programmes. This has helped farmers to stay updated about innovative techniques and welfare schemes. Sanjay Bhagariya, Deputy Director of Agriculture (Training), Dang said 'in the year 2023-24, we have done 423 cluster-based training programmes. We have trained nearly 16,000 farmers in that. We have continued the same initiative this year as well. In the year 2024-25, we have conducted more than 285 cluster-based training programmes and so far trained around 9,020 farmers.'