As rain washed away weathered soil, govt plans green manure supply

The government is set to supply green manure to revitalise soil and intensify soil testing, which authorities say will help regain lost fertility of the soil and improve agriculture output.

“Since June, Karnataka has received excess rain in more than 140 taluks of 20 districts. The rains have invariably resulted in washing away of weathered soil (first layer of soil) to a great extent,” a senior official told DH.

According to the agriculture department, crop loss was reported in 10,29,408 hectares due to showers and districts like Haveri, Kalaburagi, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Davangere and Uttara Kannada are worst affected.

“We have directed the zilla panchayat CEOs and DCs to intensify soil testing programmes to check for soil erosion,” he said. The official added that if this is not attended to with urgency, the state’s agricultural produce may fall drastically in the next two years. He said overflowing tanks in every taluk had also led to the washing away of the first layer of soil in many places.

Speaking to DH, Agriculture Minister B C Patil said that the government was planning to supply green leaf manure and vermicompost to affected farmers.

“We cannot wholly depend on chemical fertilisers to improve soil conditions,” he said.

Welcoming the government’s move, M N Thimme Gowda of the agrometeorology department at the University of Agriculture Sciences (UAS), Bengaluru, told DH that the government needs to take up long-term projects as well such as desilting tanks on a war footing.

“The government should focus on supplying tree saplings that need to be planted on contour bunds of land owned by farmers. These contour bunds work as barriers to slow down water flow during heavy rain and prevent nutrients from flowing out,” he said. He added that government should also take measures to include creating borewell recharging pits in the work list of MGNREGA.

Chief scientist of UAS’s precision farming department Mudalagiriyappa told DH that farmers should build bunds around their lands to prevent flooding.