New Delhi, February 13 Padma Award-winning farmers and agricultural experts on Friday called for the establishment of "pesticide-free farming schools", the development of gaushalas as organic manure production units, and the ensuring of compost availability at the village level to promote balanced fertilizer use and prevent soil degradation.
At a brainstorming session organized by the Department of Fertilizers at Shastri Bhawan, experts warned against the "more fertilizer means more profit" mentality and emphasized the need for systematic farmer orientation on balanced fertilizer application and crop diversification, according to an official statement.
The high-level consultation, chaired by Department of Fertilizers Secretary Rajat Kumar Mishra and held under the leadership of Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers JP Nadda, is part of the government's effort to strengthen soil health as a nationwide movement in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Save Mother Earth" call.
Padma Award winner Umashankar Pandey proposed launching a "Pesticide-Free Farming School" to educate farmers on sustainable practices and expressed readiness to collaborate with the department across states.
Ram Sharan Verma highlighted the importance of crop rotation and diversification, recommending the promotion of green manure, the rationalization of fertilizer bag sizes, and changing farmer mindsets around excessive fertilizer use.
Bharat Bhushan Tyagi advocated for scientific crop management and ensuring compost availability at the village level, urging that the message "crop residue is the foundation of prosperity" should reach every farmer.
Seth Pal Singh pointed to the pressure for excessive fertilizer sales as a contributing factor and called for accurate estimation of maximum fertilizer requirements for agricultural land, alongside systematic farmer orientation.
Kanwal Singh suggested developing gaushalas as organic manure production units and forming clusters to promote organic farming through a structured chain for health-oriented agriculture.
Chandrashekhar Singh called for strict quality checks of organic products, transparent consumer information, and village-level awareness campaigns as a pledge-based movement led by farmer-producer organizations under progressive awardee farmers.
Nek Ram Sharma emphasized identifying model farmers to lead by example in soil protection, noting that traditional Navgrah rituals using nine types of grains symbolize crop diversification and should be encouraged.
Shyam Sundar Paliwal advocated for natural farming practices to revive soil vitality and suggested establishing natural fertilizer plants at the Gram Panchayat level.
Welcoming the participants, Mishra said their guidance would provide valuable direction to the department, emphasizing that expert recommendations could be implemented as pilot projects towards balanced fertilizer use. He also underlined the deterioration of soil health over time due to imbalanced fertilizer application.
The experts also observed that ensuring local availability of manure and fertilizers at the village level would encourage balanced and responsible usage.
