Reorientation of Promotional Programmes IFFCO's Experience

摘要

Agriculture development in the country has undergone sea change resulting to self sufficiency in foodgrains production. This trend has to be continued in coming decades with the help of timely input supply supported by technological back up in related areas viz. weather, agro technology, ICT etc. Fertiliser, as one of the input will continue to play a decisive role in agricultural development to ensure food security. The nutrient cost is becoming prohibitive, resulting to imbalance use affecting crop productivity. It therefore needs scientific intervention to increase its use efficiency. Promotional programmes are the means to reach the farmers and sales point personnel for dissemination of agro technology, fertiliser in particular. The paper has brought in to focus some of the issues on skewed crop productivity and fertiliser use, need for resource conservation and farm mechanization, preference of consumers to agri commodities, impact of climate change on crop productivity and most important is the need for effective fertiliser management chain. Location specific agro technologies are available, the need however, is to demonstrate on farmers field followed by scaling up of activities on larger areas for its faster adoption and implementation at farmers level through promotional programmes. These programmes should get top priority at all levels under fertiliser management chain. Since last over four decades, IFFCO is organising promotional programmes for the benefit of farmers and cooperatives to enhance crop productivity through balanced and integrated use of nutrients. Under changed fertiliser scenario, IFFCO has reoriented its promotional programmes with thrust on "SAVE THE SOIL" campaign for sustainable agricultural development. The paper highlights IFFCOs efforts in these direction that includes ON FARM production and use of organic sources of nutrients to supplement fertiliser use, farm mechanization, water resource development, drip fertigation, etc. All these efforts lead to increase in crop productivity to the extent of 15-25% over traditional practices in various activities. Some of the success stories emanating from "SAVE THE SOIL" campaign in the areas of drip fertigation, water management, farm mechanization, crop diversification, pulses productivity enhancement programmes, ICT initiative (there are many more such studies throughout the country) are documented as a reference for its emulation on larger areas. Based on the experience of working with all the stakeholders, a model on soil health for sustainable agriculture has been developed for its adoption on larger areas.