Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday, 4 July 2026, chaired a review meeting of the state agriculture department in Shimla, issuing a series of directives aimed at making Himachal Pradesh the first state in India to fully transition to natural farming.

Context

Posting on X, CM Sukhu outlined key instructions from the meeting. In his words, 'प्राकृतिक खेती से तैयार उत्पादों के विपणन के लिए कृषि विभाग में अलग मार्केटिंग विंग स्थापित किया जाए' ('a separate marketing wing should be established within the agriculture department for products prepared through natural farming'). He also directed officials to explore sales on digital marketing platforms and to complete formalities for declaring Bada Bhangal in Kangra district as a natural farming panchayat.

A significant directive from the meeting was to initiate the process of obtaining a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the rajmah (kidney beans) grown in Bada Bhangal, a remote Himalayan valley known for its distinctive variety of the legume. Agriculture Minister Prof. Chandra Kumar and other senior officials were present at the meeting.

Policy Backdrop

Himachal Pradesh began large-scale promotion of natural farming — broadly modelled on Subhash Palekar's zero-budget techniques — around 2018, with the stated goal of becoming India's first fully natural-farming state. The effort built on the central government's Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (2015), which provided a cluster-based framework for organic and natural farming that several states, including Himachal, adapted to local conditions.

The state government says 2,56,870 farmers are currently practising natural farming across 44,784.73 hectares of land in the state. Officials at the meeting were directed to work 'with full efficiency and commitment' to accelerate this transition.

Stakeholders and Impact

The push for a dedicated marketing wing and digital sales channels is designed to close the gap between production and premium pricing — a persistent challenge for smallholders who adopt chemical-free methods but lack organised market access. GI tags, used successfully for crops such as Darjeeling tea, Basmati rice, and various regional spices, could allow Bada Bhangal rajmah to command higher prices and deter imitation products.

Beyond crop farming, CM Sukhu highlighted dairy support, stating that over the past three-and-a-half years the state government has paid Rs 300 crore to milk producers, including small and marginal dairy farmers, to put money directly in their hands. The government says the number of farmers adopting natural farming continues to rise as a result of these combined initiatives.

What's Next

The immediate milestones to watch are the formal notification establishing the separate marketing wing inside the agriculture department and the filing of the GI registration application for Bada Bhangal rajmah. Both processes involve inter-departmental coordination and central government approvals, meaning timelines will depend on bureaucratic follow-through.

If Himachal Pradesh succeeds in building a state-backed digital and physical marketing infrastructure for natural-farming produce, it could serve as a replicable model for other hill states looking to monetise the premium that chemical-free, geographically distinct crops can attract in urban and export markets.