Awareness Programme on Rational Use of Pesticides Organized

It is very common and talk of the town that there are pesticides residues on the fruits and vegetables. Either it is myth or reality!, the use of pesticides in the growth of the F&V is always there, but rational use to be known through awareness. Such awareness programmes are benefitted to the farmers and is good for the health of the consumers.

One day Awareness Programme and field demonstration was organized at Mishriwalla (village Garhi)  in collaboration with Directorate of Agriculture, Jammu under NABARD funded project entitled “Scientific intervention for validation and popularization of traps for management of insect pests in vegetable growing areas of Jammu Region.” Dr. Devinder Sharma, Project Investigator; Dr. A. K. Singh, Co-Investigator; Dr. Manoj Kumar, Vegetable expert; Dr. Kamlesh Bali, Biocontrol expert; Mr. Nirmal Prakash, AEO Mishriwalla were present during the programme.

More than 50 farmers, officials from Department of Agriculture, NGO representatives working for agriculture participated in the programme. The basic objective of the programme was to give exposure to the farmers on various scientific techniques in vegetable cultivation, management of insect pest problems, judicious use of pesticides and to upgrade their skilled on the subject.

Dr. Devinder Sharma, Principal Investigator of the project discussed threadbare the devastating effects of chemicals farmers use in fields and suggested to promote organic farming to save precious lives for which awareness was needed.

Dr. A. K. Singh urged up on the farmers to abstain from using excessive pesticides and adopt those measures which do not affect the environment and human health. He demonstrated the low cost scientifically validated technologies for the control of various insect-pests in the vegetable crops.

Dr. Manoj Kumar expert in vegetable stressed the farmers to adopt organic farming which promotes and enhances agro-eco system of health including bio diversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity.

AEO Mishriwalla, Nirmal Prakash popularize the various government schemes and stressed upon the farmers to use IPM strategies to promote eco-friendly and economically viable methods in vegetable crops. On this occasion traps were distributed to the selected farmers being for pesticide-free management of insect-pests problem in vegetables.

The group of farmers interested in vegetable cultivation interacted with the scientists. An interactive round was also held in which the growers actively interacted with the experts on different aspects of insect pest management and methods to increase crop production.