Bhubaneswar: Agriculture Minister Damodar Rout opened an exhibition on fertilizer and soil-related subjects on the occasion of World Soil Day, here, Tuesday.
He also flagged off three Mobile Soil Testing Laboratory (MSTL) buses for Angul, Bolangir
and Keonjhar districts and distributed soil health cards to 10 farmers.
OUAT organised the state-level event at OUAT. Director of Horticulture M Muthukumar, Commissioner-cum-Director of SC and WD and Mission Shakti Sujata Kartikeayan were also present.
Muthukumar said that traditional mode of farming proved best in the country before the green revolution set in. But after the use of pesticides and chemicals, the soil started getting damaged which hit agriculture and farmers. Nutrients in soil are very important for good agriculture production.
He emphasised the importance of top soil for good yield but pointed out how human errors are damaging the soil in a big way. He stressed the need for organic farming and soil management system to analyse the quality of the soil. “For that we are issuing soil health cards to all farmers once every two years to enable them address nutrient deficiencies o f their soil.
Sujata said that women farmers’ involvement is important for the better growth of agriculture. She said that watershed infrastructure use is very critical for protection of soil and in collaboration with OUAT we are working on more watershed development, she said.
An interactive session involving scientists and farmers was held about soil health and its
management for sustainable production.
PNN
