'Time to Correct Mistakes...': Amit Shah on Use of Chemical Fertilizers; Vouches for Organic Products

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday vouched for the use of organic products for agricultural purposes and addressed how harmful chemical fertilizers are impacting the quality of land and water.

Speaking at the National Symposium on the Promotion of Organic Produce, Shah said that India has made some mistakes in its agricultural journey and one of them is the unfettered use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

“It is a matter of great satisfaction for us that India is not only self-sufficient in food grains but also food surplus. However, in this journey, there are many mistakes and now is the time to correct those,” Shah said.

“In the keenness to enhance production, the use of fertilizers and pesticides has resulted in severe consequences that are visible now. It has resulted in the depletion of the fertility of land, polluted land and water and the use of the food grain thus cultivated has resulted in diseases in the human body,” Shah added.

Talking about the use of such grave fertilizers in the production of food grains and its impact on human health, Shah said that in many states overuse of chemicals for agricultural purposes led to cancer in people.

“I used to travel to many states when I was in the organisation. Many trains used to go towards the cities and these were called cancer trains. This is important enough to realise what’s going wrong. Because of the overuse of fertilizer and pesticides in some states, consumption of grain produced with overuse of fertilizer and pesticides has led to cancer in people,” the home minister said.

The symposium was organised by National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL). Shah launched the logo, website, and brochure of NCOL and distributed the membership certificates to NCOL members.

In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Sahakar Se Samriddhi, National Cooperative Organics Limited has been established as a national-level multi-state cooperative society to make India a global leader in organic products.

The Ministry of Cooperation has taken 54 initiatives in the last 27 months to strengthen the cooperative movement in the country.