Hyderabad: Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao on Monday launched a training programme for soil health volunteers at ICRISAT in Patancheru, stressing that protecting soil health is crucial for farmers’ future.
He said soil quality directly impacts crop productivity, food quality, and environmental balance. Therefore, he urged farmers to adopt sustainable practices under the soil health volunteers initiative.
Around 120 farmers from Kodangal constituency are participating in the two-day programme. They are receiving hands-on training in soil testing, nutrient management, and sustainable farming methods.
The programme, organised jointly by ICRISAT and the State Agriculture Department, aims to promote scientific and organic farming. It also seeks to reduce dependence on chemical fertilisers through the soil health volunteers network.
Soil health volunteers training targets sustainable farming
Tummala Nageswara Rao advised farmers to adopt crop rotation and composting. He also encouraged cultivation of leguminous crops to improve soil fertility.
He linked the initiative to the “Telangana Rising Vision 2047” and said it would help increase farmers’ incomes while reducing cultivation costs. He added that the soil health volunteers programme would play a key role in achieving these goals.
The Minister announced a plan to train 30,000 volunteers across the State. He said each village would have one trained volunteer to spread awareness at the grassroots level.
He also said the government had doubled its soil testing target to four lakh samples this year from two lakh last year. He added that authorities aimed to cover every revenue village through the soil health volunteers initiative.
Soil health volunteers programme gains institutional support
ICRISAT Director General Dr. Himanshu Pathak and Deputy Director General Dr. Stanford Blade attended the inauguration. Agriculture Secretary Surendra Mohan and Director of Horticulture Yasmin also participated.
Horticulture University Vice-Chancellor Dr. Raji Reddy and other officials from Agriculture and Horticulture departments were present. During the event, Dr. Himanshu Pathak highlighted the need to connect scientific research with field-level practices.
The Minister also called for greater participation in upcoming Rythu Utsavams. He encouraged farmers to take up commercial and high-yield crops such as vegetables and oil palm.
He said such steps would ensure sustainable incomes for farmers while strengthening the impact of the soil health volunteers programme.