Minister of State for Finance, Planning, IT, Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Ajay Nanda today emphasized on importance of regular soil testing and balanced fertilization in preserving the quality of soil, water and food for the present and future generations.The Minister was speaking during an awareness programme organized by the Agriculture department on the occasion of World Soil Health Day at Reasi. Addressing the farmers, the Minister said the state-wide campaign for soil testing is being undertaken to provide assistance to the farmers about the health of soil. He urged the farmers to test their soil regularly and use fertilizers as per the recommendations of the experts so as to reduce unnecessary expenditure.
The Minister stressed upon the importance of crop rotation and ill effects of crop residue burning on soil and environment. He appealed the farming community to shed the practice of crop residue burning.
Ajay Nanda lauded the efforts of Agriculture department for organizing such awareness programme. He asked the Department to hold more such programmes in the far- flung areas so that the farmers can avail the benefits of various schemes launched by the Government.The Minister was apprised about the targets and achievements registered by the department in the previous and the current fiscal. He also distributed soil health cards among the beneficiaries.Incharge Soil Testing Laboratory, Vinod Dhar briefed the gathering about various activities being carried out by the Soil Testing Lab. He also informed that about 1315 soil samples were analyzed during 2015-16.Documentary and animated films on various techniques of Soil sampling and testing were also shown to the farmers on the occasion.