Indian Government to Incentivize Yogic Farming

The agriculture ministry plans to offer cash incentives to farmers who take up ‘yogik’ farming, ‘gou mata kheti’ and ‘rishi krishi’—obscure methods of cultivation that have little scientific evidence to prove they are beneficial. According to the National Centre for Organic Farming (NCOF), that the ministry had decided to go through with including these non-scientific methods for financial assistance.
Yogik farming refers to a cultivation method where in farmers are believed to channelize cosmic energy to their fields by performing yoga.
The Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), elaborates that farmers who adopt these methods will be eligible for assistance of Rs 48,700 per hectare for a three-year period from the Government as the scheme. The Government is planning to give incentives to farmers who take up traditional farming methods like yogik farming, rishi krishi, and gou mata kheti, These happen to be ancient practices with little or no scientific evidence to prove they are beneficial. Recently on 2nd April,the guidelines for the scheme were released. Whereas some of the techniques covered under the scheme were showcased at the Government’s Krishi Unnati Mela organized in New Delhion 16-18 March 2018.. A budgetary allocation of Rs 360 crore has been made for the scheme.
According to the new guidelines, practices like Yogik farming,Ggou Mata Kheti, Vedic farming, Vaishnav Kheti, Ahinsa farming, Adhvoot Shivanand farming, and Rishi Krishi will be eligible for financial assistance under PKVY. Cultivators who adopt standard organic farming practices like zero-budget natural farming and permaculture will also benefit from this scheme.
“We do not intend to take farming to the Vedic era but are promoting low-cost environment-friendly methods of farming which certain groups are already practicing… it is too early to say anything more,” according to the  official at the integrated nutrient management division of the Ministry.