e-magazine to make farmers aware of paddy straw mgmt

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 3

Deputy Commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma today launched an e-magazine prepared by the Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department for making farmers aware of effective techniques for ensuring paddy straw management through social media.

Unveiling a hard copy of the magazine at his office in the District Administrative Complex here, the DC described it as a path-breaking initiative of the Agriculture Department to make the farmers aware through e-content.

He said this was the apt use of technology for making them aware of benefits of the paddy straw management.

Sharma envisioned that this out-of-the-box idea of the Agriculture Department go a long way in sensitising the farmers to the grave issue.

The DC said burning of paddy straw was hazardous for the farmers and land, which was considered mother by agriculturalists. Burning of paddy straw was not a solution for the farm residue management as it ruins the health of soil, besides affecting the environment. Sharma said due to the burning of paddy straw, major nutrients and other micro-nutrients of soil were destroyed, adding that the burning of straw also produces several poisonous gases which adversely effect human health.

“Hence, the need of hour is to generate awareness among farmers to encourage them for paddy straw management, for which this initiative will contribute tremendously,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chief Agriculture Officer Naazar Singh and Agriculture Officer Naresh Gulati apprised the Deputy Commissioner that the e-magazine would be circulated among the farmers via Facebook and WhatsApp.

They informed the Deputy Commissioner that the agriculturists were connected with them through these platforms of social media, adding that WhatsApp groups at the district and block levels had been created to disseminate information to farmers.