Farmers in India’s idyllic beach resort of Goa are being encouraged by officials through WhatsApp posts to follow ‘Vedic farming’ techniques by chanting ancient Hindu mantras to ensure better yields.

State Agricultural Minister Vijay Sardesai, who inaugurated the pilot Shiv Yog Cosmic Farming project at Fatorda, 20 miles south of Goa’s capital Panjim, also maintained that this novel practice of ‘channelling shakti (energy) into the soil’ via these intonations was also an alternative to harmful chemical fertilisers.

The novel method requires farmers to daily recite a ‘healing’ Sanskrit mantra for 20 minutes during the sowing season; the resultant vibrations would ensure a safer and higher crop output, the minister said.

The WhatApp posts portray footage of farmers in central Madhya Pradesh state sitting cross legged on their fields collectively "tapping the cosmic shakti (energy) and pushing the universe’s positive vibrations towards healthier seed germination".

According to the Indian Express the holy invocation by these farmers was supervised by Avadhoot Shivanand, a former chemical engineer, who has been propagating this unique cosmic agricultural venture from his headquarters in Gurgaon on New Delhi’s outskirts.