Chandigarh, June 8 -- Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini on Sunday announced that the state government will formulate a policy next year to promote natural and organic farming on land owned by panchayats. "About 800-acre land that agriculture department owns will also be leased only to farmers committed to practicing natural and organic farming on such land for at least next 10 years," Saini said while addressing an "agriculture workshop" organised in Kurukshetra under the natural farming promotion and cluster formation programme of the agriculture and farmers' welfare department. On this occasion, Gujarat governor Acharya Devvrat, known for promoting natural farming was also present. The Haryana government launched a natural farming scheme in 2022, and so far, about two lakh farmers have registered approximately three lakh acres of land on the portal meant for this purpose. While 23,930 farmers covering 44,077 acres have been verified for adopting natural farming, during the 2025-26 fiscal year, natural farming was practiced on 20,727 acres across the state, according to official data. The government has set up natural farming training centres at Gurukul (Kurukshetra), Hameti (Jind), Mangiana (Sirsa) and Gharaunda in Karnal. A state advisor has also been appointed at the Gurukul training centre in Kurukshetra to train progressive farmers. So far, 12,188 participants, including young farmers, women and government employees, have been trained, while 6,234 sarpanches have received one-day online training through the Hameti training centre. Gujarat governor said that dedicated efforts are essential to take the natural farming mission forward. He cautioned that if adequate attention is notgiven to this issue, agricultural land could eventually become barren. He said that natural farming has now become one of the country's most pressing needs. "Merely increasing the use of chemical fertilisers will not lead to sustainable growth in agricultural production. Instead, improving soil fertility through natural farming is essential," he said....