Krishi Sakhi in UP

• 03 May 2025

Why in News? 

The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to train women as 'Krishi Sakhi' to promote natural farming. 

Key Points 

• About Krishi Sakhi Scheme : 
  • This initiative formally recognises the role of women in agriculture, and is a strong step towards making them economically and socially self-reliant. 
  • Selection Process & Role: 
  • Those women will be selected as 'Krishi Sakhi' who will: 
    • Be a local resident . 
    • Be associated with Self-Help Groups (SHGs) or be active in agricultural work . 
    • Have a minimum of primary education (literacy is compulsory). 
  • Their role includes: 
    • Raising awareness among farmers about natural farming benefits. 
    • Receiving and sharing training on organic inputs and seed treatment. 
    • Monitoring agricultural clusters and reporting farmer issues to Krishi Vigyan Kendras. 
    • Promoting collective farming through women’s groups. 
  • Training and Honorarium: 
    • These women will be given regular training by Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) on topics like natural farming, organic product production, experimental methods, disease control . 
    • During the training they will be provided with field demonstrations , visual aids, and toolkits . 
      • Two Bio-input Research Centres will be established in each district . 
    • 'Krishi Sakhis' will be paid an honorarium of Rs 5,000 per month, which will become a source of fixed income for rural women . 
      • Additionally, performance-based incentives may also be given in some areas. 

 Natural Farming 

• Natural farming is a chemical-free agricultural method based on locally available resources. 
• It promotes traditional indigenous methods that free producers from dependence on external inputs. 
• The major focuses of natural farming are on-farm biomass recycling with biomass mulching, on-farm use of indigenous cow dung and urine, pest management through diversity, on-farm vegetable mixing and exclusion of all synthetic chemical inputs directly or indirectly.   
• Since no synthetic chemicals are used in natural farming, it is less hazardous to health . 
• These foods have high nutritional content and provide better health benefits. 
• Natural Farming aims to make farming viable and aspirational by reducing costs and risks, increasing the net income of farmers as a result of uniform yield and income from intercropping .