Procurement of Wheat and Turmeric from May 15; Barley Procurement Planned in Pangi
Shimla | In a major push to promote sustainable and chemical-free agriculture, the Himachal Pradesh government has announced the highest Minimum Support Prices (MSP) in the country for naturally grown wheat, raw turmeric, maize, and barley. Under the Prakritik Kheti Khushhal Kisan Yojana (PK3Y), the state will begin procurement of naturally farmed wheat at ₹60 per kg and raw turmeric at ₹90 per kg from May 15.
The procurement will be carried out from certified natural farmers across the state to strengthen the rural economy and encourage the adoption of low-cost, eco-friendly farming methods. Secretary, Agriculture, C. Paulrasu said that farmers producing crops through natural farming have already been identified for this purpose.
In tribal areas like the remote Pangi valley in Chamba district, the state government is also planning to procure naturally grown barley at ₹60 per kg. Estimation work is underway in the region where the sowing season has just begun. The move is aimed at encouraging unemployed youth in high-altitude areas to take up natural farming as a sustainable livelihood option.
Earlier, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had announced during the Himachal Day function at Pangi on April 15, 2025, that the valley would be developed as the first Natural Farming Sub-Division of Himachal Pradesh. Following this, the Agriculture Department has initiated the certification process for the area under the Participatory Guarantee Scheme (PGS). A committee has been formed to carry out a survey for Large Area Certification and submit a detailed report.
The state government is committed to uplifting farmers’ incomes while promoting environmentally safe agricultural practices. Our focus is on sustainable agriculture in harmony with nature, said Paulrasu. We are also organizing field trainings and awareness drives to help farmers adopt this technique.
Currently, 3.06 lakh farmers have been trained in natural farming across Himachal, with 2.22 lakh actively practicing it on 38,437 hectares. Moreover, 1.98 lakh farmers have been certified under PK3Y’s CETARA-NF (Certified Evaluation Tool for Agriculture Resource Analysis-Natural Farming) program.
Last year, the state procured 399 metric tonnes of naturally grown maize from 1,509 CETARA-NF certified farmers. The produce was processed into flour and sold under the brand name Him Bhog Makki Atta by the Food and Civil Supplies Corporation.
