By H.S. Jat, R.S. Dadarwal, Love K. Singh and J.M. Sutaliya/CIMMYT
The Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), one of India’s leading agricultural research institutes, has partnered with CIMMYT to develop a technical bulletin in Hindi on conservation agriculture practices as part of the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA).
The bulletin was recently released at the spring farmers’ fair “Rabi Kisan Mela” organized by CSSRI in Karnal, Haryana. The bulletin aims to increase awareness among farmers about sustainable intensification and the latest conservation agriculture technologies. R.S. Paroda, former director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and chairman of the Haryana Farmers Commission, launched the bulletin at the fair’s inauguration and advised farmers to adopt sustainable agricultural practices to combat shrinking land and declining water resources. He praised the conservation agriculture research-for-development efforts in Haryana by ICAR, CIMMYT, the Department of Agriculture and other institutions and advocated for faster adoption of conservation agriculture to address the emerging challenges of climate change.
The fair provided a platform for more than 3,000 farmers from the states of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh to participate and interact with researchers, extension agents and policymakers on the issues of salt-affected soils management, conservation agriculture, precision agriculture, farm mechanization and options for climate-resilient farming under diverse production systems. During the fair, 25 progressive farmers were congratulated for their efforts. The CIMMYT-Haryana team also used an exhibition to disseminate resource-conserving and climate-smart agricultural technologies.
Capacity development 