Sri Vijaya Puram, Oct. 22: The District-level campaign ‘Khet Bachao Abhiyan’, to be implemented from Oct. 22 to 30, was launched today at the Zonal Agriculture Office, South Andaman, by the Department of Agriculture, ICAR–Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), South Andaman, in association with UT-ATMA, along with the Rabi Campaign.
Speaking on the occasion, the Director of Agriculture, Shri. Debabrata Basantia highlighted that the campaign was launched by the Government of India with the objective of promoting the balanced and judicious use of fertilizers based on soil testing, improving soil health, encouraging water conservation and harvesting, promoting sustainable nutrient management, and accelerating the adoption of natural farming. He urged farmers to avoid the indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers and adopt Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) practices to sustain soil fertility and reduce the cost of cultivation.
Dr. Y. Ramakrishna, Head, KVK, South Andaman, elaborated on the importance of soil testing, the need for soil-test-based fertilizer application as recommended in the Soil Health Card, soil and water conservation measures, and the benefits of natural farming.
Earlier, Assistant Director (Agriculture), South Andaman briefed the participants on the activity calendar of Khet Bachao Abhiyan, to be implemented across all blocks. The Assistant Director (Agri), ATMA, advised farmers to adopt scientific and sustainable agricultural practices to safeguard standing crops and improve farm productivity. The Agriculture Officer, South Andaman also spoke on the occasion.
A total of 60 participants, including Farmers, Farmer Friends, departmental officers ATMA functionaries, attended the programme.