PIONEER NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation (ICAR-IISWC), Dehradun, is promoting water and moisture conservation techniques for Kharif crops under Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan(VKSA)-2025. Under the scheme, the institute is providing awareness to farmers and other stakeholders regarding scientific crop advisories, Implementation Packages (PoPs) for major Kharif crops, water and moisture conservation techniques, maintenance of soil health and prevention of land erosion, said the principal scientist, ICAR-IISWC), M Muruganandam.
On the twelfth day of the campaign on Monday, teams of scientists from the Institute visited 19 villages where they provided direct assistance to farmers to address challenges related to Kharif crop management. The effort focused on delivering specific, location-specific advice according to local needs and resources.
During the interactions, farmers highlighted several common problems such as crop damage by wildlife, lack of irrigation infrastructure, unavailability of quality inputs, weed growth, pest and disease infestation and difficulties in marketing the produce.
In response to these challenges, scientists shared practical techniques and advice related to water harvesting, life-saving irrigation, moisture conservation and soil health improvement. Special emphasis was laid on selection of crops according to the carrying capacity of the land and available resources.
In hilly areas, the regularly cultivated land was recommended to be optimally utilised for growing a mix of food grains, cash and vegetable crops. The partially utilised land was recommended to be used for growing food crops requiring less water such as small millets (mandua, jhingoora) to take advantage of rain-fed conditions. The seldom used or fallow land was recommended to be converted to alternate agricultural uses such as plantations or intercropping systems with trees.
