Push for organic farming: B C Patil

Karnataka sees organic farming in about 1.1 lakh acres of land and the government intends to expand it to another 1.5 lakh acres, said Minister for Agriculture B C Patil on Saturday.

He was speaking at the Sri Sri Organic Farming 2020 event that was organised by the Art of Living in the city.

"Most of us have forgotten the importance of organic farming and we have poisoned the land," Patil said.

"The problems of farmers are huge. It is only now that we have understood the importance of organic farming. Art of Living's farm model of cultivating 70 varieties of trees in just half an acre of land is an example that others can adopt," he said.

Founder of Art of Living Sri Sri Ravishankar said, "In Assam and Chhattisgarh, organic farming is very popular. Even the other states should adopt a similar idea. This will eliminate the cost involved in buying chemical fertilisers," he said.

He said that the true Shiva puja would be to protect the environment. He added that an agribusiness course is being started by the Sri Sri Institute of Agriculture.