Agri drive in 135 Sirsa villages from today

A special agricultural awareness campaign, the Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan, will be held in 135 villages of Haryana’s Sirsa district from May 29 to June 12. Launched under a joint effort by the Central and state governments, the initiative aims at providing farmers with updated knowledge on modern farming techniques, government schemes, and new technologies to help them improve their agricultural output and earnings.

According to Dr Sukhdev Singh, Deputy Director of Agriculture, the campaign will involve experts from the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) and the Central Institute for Cotton Research based in Sirsa. Officials from various departments, including agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, dairy, and fisheries, will visit the villages to engage directly with farmers. These teams will explain different government schemes and share useful practices related to crop farming, animal rearing and fishery management.

The campaign will be carried out daily by three teams, each covering nine villages a day. Senior officers at both the national and state levels will monitor the campaign’s progress to ensure its effectiveness.

Singh noted that the campaign was being conducted at a crucial time, as the Kharif sowing season was ongoing. So far, the farmers in Sirsa had sown cotton over approximately 1,40,000 hectares, summer moong over 1,500 hectares and groundnut over 400 hectares. Paddy nurseries were also being prepared in the region.

In areas where fields were unsown or fertiliser were yet to be sprayed, soil samples would be collected and sent for lab testing to check soil fertility. This will help farmers make informed decisions about crop and nutrient management.