Goa To Soon Be Declared An Organic State, Says Chief Minister Pramod Sawant

Goa will soon be declared an organic state, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Tuesday (17 September).

Sawant urged farmers and dairy owners to focus on the generation of vermicompost, which he said, would replace chemical fertilisers, to be used as manure for agricultural and horticultural crops.

"In some time, we are going to declare Goa an organic state under a Central scheme. We are creating 500 clusters... We have decided to stop using chemical fertilisers," Sawant said.

"The process has started. Soil testing is going on in the 500 clusters. Please stop using chemical fertilisers. Use manure, cow dung," the Chief Minister also said.

He also said that once Goa is declared an organic state, there would be a huge demand for vermicompost -- natural fertiliser produced with the help of earthworms. He asked the dairy farmers to step in to fill the supply gap.

"There will be a demand for vermiculture. Farmers will have to provide the material needed for organic fertiliser. If we do agriculture and dairy farming in an integrated manner, farmers will benefit," Sawant said.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)