Karnataka Plans to Reintroduce Bhoochetana Scheme for Soil Health Protection

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday announced that the Bhoochetana scheme for improving soil health will be reintroduced. Talking to participants at the Agriculture and Horticulture Ministers Meeting in Bengaluru, Bommai told that the Bhoochetana scheme was launched in 2009 by then-Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa.

He stated that such a scheme, focusing on soil health protection and crop yield improvement through proper nutrient and fertilizer management, was now required to ensure efficient fertilizer and nutrient utilization.

He emphasized the importance of combining traditional farming practices with modern farming methods in order to achieve better results. "While traditional farming contributes to soil health and environmental protection, modern methods go a long way in improving yields,” he noted.

Bommai expressed concern that, despite efforts to ensure the country's food security, farmers' conditions had not improved. He emphasized the importance of improving farmers' financial situation, saying that secondary agriculture, which focuses on using land for multiple activities, was the only way to double farmers' incomes.

He stated that there was an urgent need to focus on a comprehensive method of secondary agriculture, noting that Karnataka had already established a secondary agriculture directorate.

He stated that efforts were being made in Karnataka to integrate various agricultural, horticultural, and veterinary sciences universities through a common platform for proper research coordination.

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar emphasized the importance of digitizing various agricultural practices and increasing the number of FPOs (farmers' producers' organizations) to assist farmers.

Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Health, Chemicals, and Fertilizers, expressed concern that the current level of subsidy provided by the Union government to various fertilizer manufacturing companies was equivalent to the annual budget size of a state such as Karnataka.