Swami Shitikantananda of Ramakrishna Math called upon farmers to save mother earth and pass it on safely to the coming generations.
“Soil is not a resource but a legacy that we have inherited from our ancestors, and to be handed over safely to the future generations. Farmers need to reduce the use of pesticides as involves violence against beneficial insects like bees and butterflies. Promote non-chemical agriculture,” said the Swamiji addressing a group of scientists after inaugurating a seminar on ‘Harnessing the Potential of Panchabhutas (tatvas) for Sustainable Climate Resilient Rainfed Agriculture’ held at the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) on Wednesday.
Dr. V.K. Singh, Director, ICAR-CRIDA, emphasised the importance of panchabhutas - kshiti, pawan, sameer, jal and gagan - in sustainable rain-fed agriculture. He further mentioned that crop production is essentially harnessing of sun’s energy, by plants using carbon dioxide from air, and water.
Dr. M.C. Varshneya, former Vice-Chancellor, Kamadhenu University, and Anand Agricultural University, said that when panchabhutas are in harmonious balance, crop production is bountiful. Disruption of this balance leads to crop stresses that lower production and deterioration of soil, water and air quality. Climate change is one such disruptor that alters the ‘energy’ in the plant environment and the balancing of the panchabhutas neutralises the impact of climate change and leads to climate resilient agriculture, he said.
Dr. Pramod Chaudhari, president, Bharatiya Agro Economic Research Centre, said: Our ancestors had a deep understanding of panchabhutas and how they affect every aspect of human life, including agriculture.
Dr. Dinesh Kulkarni, general secretary, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, Dr A. K. Singh, former Deputy Director General, National Resources Management and former VC of Rajamatha Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalay, and others were present. About 300 stakeholders, including scientists, research workers, farmers and students participated in the event.
