Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], June 13 : Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu while chairing a meeting with a delegation of the National Rural Livelihood Mission and the Himachal Pradesh 'Pashu Evam Krishi Sakhi Sangh on Friday said that the State Government is committed to strengthen the rural economy and special emphasis has been laid on promoting natural farming.
According to a release, CM Sukhu said that for the first time, the State Government has fixed Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for milk, wheat, maize, and turmeric produced through natural farming. He added that MSP for maize has been increased from Rs 30 to Rs 40 per kg, and for wheat from Rs 40 to Rs 60 per kg, benefitting lakhs of farmers.
CM Sukhu further informed that the state will soon start purchasing raw turmeric at Rs. 90 per kg to promote its cultivation under the 'Himachali Haldi' brand name.
"Over 1.58 lakh farmers engaged in natural farming have already been certified in the State so far," he said.
Informing about the launch of e-commerce portal 'Him-Ira' to facilitate the sale of products made by women self-help groups, Sukhu said, "Products like Him-Ira are gaining popularity even outside the State."
He assured the delegation that their demands would be considered sympathetically and necessary action would be taken, the release added.
Earlier, CM Sukhu said the State Government is constantly striving to strengthen the rural economy, and a potato processing plant would be set up in Una district at a cost of about Rs 20 crore, according to the release.
He said the support price would soon be declared for potatoes to strengthen the farmers' economy.
The Chief Minister chaired the state-level Multi-Stakeholder Consultative conference organised by Himachal Pradesh Revitalising Rainfed Agriculture Network.
He said the state government was strongly promoting green energy and natural farming. The minimum support price for crops produced from natural farming has been fixed and will be further increased in the coming year. Highlighting the importance of natural farming, he said many new schemes will be implemented in the coming year to boost the rural economy, as per the release.