Workshop on Promotion of Use of Botanical Pesticides for Crop Protection

17th February 2023, Nimpith

ICAR- Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Kolkata in collaboration with Ramakrishna Ashram KVK, Nimpith organized a one-day workshop on “Promotion of the Use of Botanical Pesticides Based on Locally Available Resources/Plants in Zero Budgeting Organic Farming for Crop Protection and Enhancing Crop Productivity” here today. This program was sponsored by Institute of Pesticide Formulation Technology (IPFT), Gurugram, under the Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, GOI.

Swami Sadananda Maharaj, Chairman of RAKVK inaugurated the program.

The Chief Guest, Dr. Pradip Dey, Director, ICAR-ATARI, Kolkata, emphasized environment-friendly, economically viable, and gender-friendly agriculture using botanical pesticides. Dr. Dey urged using Agriculture Drones for spraying botanical bio-pesticides to safeguard non-target groups like beneficial insects, pollinators, etc. He also accentuated on “One Health” concept to save the health of soil, plant, animals, and humans in a continuum.

Dr. Jitendra Kumar, Director, IPFT, briefed the role of IPFT in creating awareness of the farmers on usage of botanical pesticides.

Dr. Avijit Haldar, Principal Scientist, ICAR-ATARI, Kolkata, congratulated RAKVK Nimpith for its role in improving the overall agriculture situation in the district by transforming vast areas of paddy monocropping into intensive cropping.  He also cautioned the farmers from indiscriminate use of chemicals to prevent their residual effects in the entire food chain.

More than 200 farmers from different blocks of South 24 Parganas district (Joynagar-I & II, Mathurapur-II, Patharpratima, Kulpi, Kakdwip, Sagar, Namkhana and Mograhat-I) participated in the workshop.

Literatures on biopesticide preparation, in local vernacular, were distributed to the farmers along with protective gears (goggles and gloves) for safe spraying of pesticides.

(Source: ICAR- Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Kolkata)