A firm in Maharashtra's Latur district will carry out organic farming on 300 hectares of land under the aegis of the state agriculture department, an official said.?Fifteen clusters of farmers have been formed for this initiative, each of which will get Rs 10 lakh over the next three years to cultivate crops in Chakur tehsil here without using chemicals, he said.?

"Chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides are being used in very large quantities for cultivation. To stop harmful effects from such produce, the state agriculture department is promoting organic farming under the Conventional Agriculture Development Scheme (CADS)," the official said.?

"The Nalegaon-based company will coordinate to implement organic farming on 300 hectares in the district under the Agricultural Technology Management System. The Rs 10 lakh that will be given to each farmers' cluster will include aid to obtain Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) certification," he said.?

PGS is a quality assurance initiative under the National Project of Organic Farming (NPOF) of the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.?The official said these farmers' clusters will also get aid for soil testing, green manure, setting up compose depots and purchasing natural fertilisers.?

Each cluster consists of 20 farmers from Nalegaon, Ajansonda (Khurd), Sawantwadi, Hatkarwadi, Ukachiwadi, Hudgewadi, Limbalwadi, Sugaon and Gharni villages, he said.?"The aim is to provide chemical free produce to consumers," said Dattatray Gavasane, project director of the Agricultural Technology Management System.