Saving of rice and wheat crops during intense rains, improving underground water quality for irrigation, arresting ground water depletion and enhancing the soil fertility and increasing crop resilience, crop residues burning, and using appropriate methods of residue and cow dung decomposing to enhance the soil health are the need of the hour. The problem related to these current topics the Farmers-scientist interface meeting and field visit was organized under Farmer FIRST Project being implemented by Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), Karnal (Haryana).
A farmer goshthi was held in village Kathwar where about 200 farmers and NGOs workers, officials from state agriculture department participated. In his address, Dr. A.K. Singh highlighted issues of crop residues burning, and using appropriate methods of residue and cow dung decomposing to enhance the soil health. He also suggested that Deputy Director Agriculture (Kaithal) and Village Panchayat together with farmers may join the hands with CSSRI to establish network of further diffusion of CSSRI’s adaptive technologies mobilizing funds from state and central schemes such as using RKVY.
Dr. A. K. Singh DDG (Agril. Extension) was the Chief Guest of the event. Dr. Singh, while interacting with farmers, briefed about the benefits of these technologies- such as saving of rice and wheat crops during intense rains, improving underground water quality for irrigation, arresting ground water depletion and enhancing the soil fertility and increasing crop resilience. These technologies in integrated mode are able to enhance the farmers’ income by about 5-30 percent (depending upon the types of interventions), as responded by the farmers.
Dr. PC. Sharma, Director ICAR-CSSRI opined that CSSRI Karnal will provide expertise support to the line departments to promote tested technologies in the salt affected lands. Dr VP Chahal, ADG (Agril. Extn) was also present on the occasion.
Dignitaries, team of ICAR-CSSRI’s scientists together group of farmers visited major fields where interventions of ground-water recharge, salt tolerant wheat variety (KRL-210), gypsum and rice-residues management were demonstrated under Farmer FIRST project
Chander Mohan
Krishi Jagran
