“Providing the right kind of nutrition to plants is as important as irrigation and protection from diseases. Farmers need to be regularly trained in this field,” a bio-fertilizer expert said in Bidar on Thursday.
Basavaraj Girennavar, Founder and Chief Scientist at Criyagen, a start-up in the field of bio-fertilizers, spoke to progressive farmers and farm scientists at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra.
“Most farmers throw around fertilizers in their field thinking that is the best way to provide nutrition to plants. They don’t realize that crops need different types of fertilizers applied to different parts of the plants at different times,” he said.
He said that studies had revealed that across India, soils lack organic carbon, micro-nutrients and microbes. These inputs need to be added to the soils in the right quantity and at the right time, he said. He urged farmers to gradually shift to bio-fertilizers and organic manure as they would increase the count of microbial organisms in the soil that will enrich it and ultimately become a natural breeding ground for plants, without additives.
Dr. Girennavar, an alumnus of Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University, has set-up Criyagen at the incubation centre in the University of Agriculture Sciences, Bengaluru. His company is building a one crore litre capacity bio-fertilizer plant in Bengaluru rural district. “We will soon become a Rs. 100 crore corporation,” he said.
K.M. Mahantesh, project officer of Reliance foundation, said that charity had taken up watershed development, healthcare and education improvement and capacity building for women in around 12 villages in the district.
S.A. Patil, Former Director, Indian Agriculture Research Institute, said several agencies including ICRISAT, were creating a 100-acre model farm in Bidar. “The best practices in farming will be used there. It will serve as an open air teaching centre for farmers and a research and development centre for scientists,” he said.
Vivek Chakote, District Coordinator of the Indian society of agri-professionals, said the farm produce organisations set-up in Bhalki and Basava Kalyan are helping farmers find the right price for their produce.
Ravi Deshmukh, training coordinator, KVK, and others were present. The interaction was organised by the India-Morocco Food legume initiative.
