Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan today said that the Khet Bachao Abhiyan should be made a comprehensive national campaign connecting farms, farmers and villages. The Minister said this while chairing a high-level meeting regarding the preparations of the Khet Bachao Abhiyan in New Delhi. During the meeting, he said that the focus of the campaign will be on balanced and judicious use of fertilisers, timely advice to farmers in the view of weather-related challenges, active participation at the panchayat level and delivering the benefits of the schemes directly to the villages.
Mr Chouhan directed the officials to focus on saving the farms, balancing the costs and providing timely and right guidance to farmers. He added that a strong foundation will be laid for the campaign at the panchayat level. The Minister also directed the officials to include the distribution of mechanisation machines and the benefits of schemes and government programmes at the panchayat level under this campaign. He further emphasised that minimising the reckless use of chemical fertilisers would be the prime objective of the campaign.
Mr Chouhan also noted that the campaign will not be confined to the departmental scope only. Chief Ministers of States will be urged, and efforts will be made to ensure participation of ministers, MPs, MLAs and other public representatives so that the campaign goes beyond the ambit of an administrative programme. He said this approach will give political, social and local energy to the campaign from its early days.
The Khet Bachao Abhiyan will be carried out across the country from Monday to 30th June. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare said that Krishi Vigyan Kendra KVKs have been assigned the role of key coordinators for all participating institutions in the campaign. It added that over one thousand six hundred teams have been formed, and a total of five hundred teams have been constituted for the hundred districts of excessive fertiliser use.
