Shillong, Sep 9: Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya today said the Northeast has the potential to emerge as a hub of natural farming by integrating traditional knowledge with scientific innovation.
He was speaking as chief guest at the inaugural session of the three-day national conference on ‘Natural Farming: Pathways to Self-reliant Farming and Rural Prosperity (NCNF 2026)’ at the College of Post Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences (CPGSAS), Umiam.
The Governor said natural farming must be backed by strong value chains — from production and processing to packaging, branding and market access — to raise farmers’ incomes. He called for promotion of GI-tagged and indigenous products under “Local to Global”.
He also released publications on natural farming, including the Abstract Compendium, Poster Book and Media Chronicle.
NITI Aayog Member Dr Joram Aniya stressed the link between soil health, food quality and human well-being and said reducing chemical inputs was key to sustainable agriculture and Viksit Bharat 2047.
Earlier, CAU Vice-Chancellor Dr Anupam Mishra welcomed the delegates and said the conference aims to bring farmers, researchers, policymakers and industry together.
The conference, being held in collaboration with ICAR, New Delhi; DST-NECTAR, Shillong; Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University, Jhansi; Dr Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa; and Gujarat Natural Farming Science University, has drawn around 500 participants including farmers, scientists, students and extension professionals.
