SVKM’s NMIMS School of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SAST), Shirpur, in association with Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), jointly organised a ‘Farmer Interactive Workshop’ in Kalamsare village, Shirpur Taluq in Maharashtra recently to appraise the farmers about the recent developments in agriculture and advanced farming practices. About 100 farmers and representatives of agro-input companies participated in the event where Dr. S. Desai, Dean SAST highlighted the need for soil health management, water management and protection of biodiversity of beneficial organisms by minimising harmful chemicals for enhanced farm profitability.
Ravindra Rajput (Sarpanch, Kalamsare), Rajendra Patil (Sarpanch, Ajnad), Gajanan Bhavsar, Pramod Bhari, Prabhakar Bhari, Sudhakar Ganu also addressed the farmers and advised them about the benefits of adopting modern agricultural practices. Gajanan Bhavsar of Tiranga petrol pump organised the event. In the exhibition, many major agro-input companies like Nuzivedu Seeds, US Agriseeds, Sumitomo Chemicals, Prabhat Agribiotech and others participated and displayed the new varieties of seeds, nutrients and other novel products for crop stress management.
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The live specimens of the beneficial insects and queen termite shown by Dr. Krishna Chaitanya attracted the attention of all the farmers as well as guests. He also highlighted the need for use of pheromone traps for monitoring the insect pests and advised the farmers to reduce the indiscriminate use of pesticides which harm these beneficial insects. The farmers appreciated this information and also took pictures for their identification in the field. Dr. Nitin Misal demonstrated the collection of soil samples for nutrient analysis so that only need-based fertilisers can be applied to reduce the cost of cultivation and also environmental pollution. Sudharkar Ganu also interacted with the farmers regarding how to increase production by addressing micronutrient deficiencies.
The event on advanced farming practices was fruitful in generating awareness among the farmers about eco-friendly agriculture, resource conservation and optimised use of resources for sustainable enhanced farm profitability.
