27 Karnal villages reap benefits of eco-friendly farming

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, June 26

The concept of climate smart villages, which was adopted three years ago, has been successfully implemented in 27 villages of the district. By adopting eco-friendly farming amid the threat of global warming to agriculture, over 200 farmers of these villages have been receiving good yield.

Scientists say farmers are reaping benefits in form of fertile soil, good water level and less emission of greenhouse gases. Many more farmers are coming forward to adopt climate smart agriculture practices.

“It is a Consultative Group of International Agriculture Research (CGIAR) programme on climate change, agriculture and food security initiated by International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT),” said HS Jat, hub manager, CIMMYT.

“We are working in Haryana in collaboration with Central Soil Salinity Institute (CSSRI), Karnal. In the first phase in 2012, there were four villages taken under this project, which increased to 27 in 2014 in four blocks, including Indri, Nilokheri, Nissing and Gharaunda,” he said.

The hub manager said the project covered the full spectrum of farm activities based on carbon, water, weather, nutrients and knowledge smart methods.

“These interventions increase crop resilience to climatic stress and provide livelihood security. Major reasons to adopt this concept are food security, adaptive capacity and mitigation potential. We are providing technical assistance to farmers, including hi-end equipment to make cultivation easier,” said Jat.

Farmers under the project were being imparted training on the use of latest technologies to determine the nutrient value of soil and diseases in crops, he said.

Vikas Kumar, a farmer from Taraori, started eco-friendly farming on 5 acres. Now, he has extended the area to 35 acres.

He said farmers of his area were also adopting this type of farming for profit and saving the environment.