Prayagraj: Under the aegis of ICAR, the Indian Vegetable Research Institute successfully organized an awareness program on “Balanced Fertilizer Use and Organic Farming” on 29-04-2026 in village-Mailha, Block Baharia, Prayagraj district, under the National Fertilizer Awareness Campaign. The main objective of the program was to make farmers aware of the balanced use of chemical fertilizers, the importance of organic alternatives, and scientific measures for soil health conservation.

Present on this occasion were Dr. Anant Bahadur, Principal Scientist and Head of the Department, senior scientists Dr. Pradeep Karmakar, Hiranmay Das, and scientist Dr. Sujan Majumdar. Dr. Mukesh Masih, Nimisha Natarajan, and R.P. Singh from the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Prayagraj, also participated in the program and provided technical guidance to the farmers. During the program, scientists provided detailed information to farmers about the use of organic fertilizers and their long-term benefits. State-level agriculture officials were also present. Dr. Anant Bahadur highlighted the need for balanced fertilizer use and its various options. He emphasized the use of all organic components, such as green manure, organic fertilizers, and vermicompost. Highlighting the principles of organic and natural farming, he explained that this method not only maintains soil fertility but also improves the quality of produce. Dr. Sujan Majumdar provided information and training to farmers on the use of Trichoderma and microbial-based biofertilizers, explaining that these techniques help protect crops from diseases and increase production. Block head of Bahria, Mr. Shashank Mishra distributed fertilizer kits brought from Indian Vegetable Research Institute and encouraged the farmers to minimize the use of chemical fertilizers and promote organic farming.

Experts from the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Prayagraj, also provided detailed information to farmers on the use of local resources, the misuse of chemical fertilizers, and how to take soil samples for soil health testing. Bahria Farmer Producer Co. Ltd. made valuable contributions to the smooth conduct of this program. At the end of the program, a farmer-scientist dialogue session was held, in which farmers’ queries were addressed. The farmers present described these awareness programs as extremely useful and expressed their expectation for similar events in the future.