State observes World Soil Day
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, December 05 2020:
World Soil Day was observed in the Farmers Training Hall of Directorate of Agriculture at Sanjenthong today.
It was organised by the Directorate of Agriculture, Government of Manipur.
Laltanpuii Vanchhong, Director of Agriculture, Todinang Pamei, Joint Director of Agriculture and Laltinmang Doungel, Deputy Director, Soil Chemist graced the occasion as the chief guest,president and guest of honor respectively.
Speaking on the occasion, Laltanpuii Vanchhong said that December 5 is observed as World Soil Day as decided by the United Nations and added that soil is an inevitable part of life as foods are produced by planting plants and other vegetables in soil.
This year it is observed under the theme, 'Keep Soil Alive, Protect Soil Biodiversity' .
Soil provides food security therefore everyone should respect and treat soil with care, he added.
He appealed to the farmers not to use fertilizers in excess quantity as they contaminate the soil due to the chemicals present in it.
Therefore regular testing of soil should be done and the required amount of fertilizers should be used accordingly in order to preserve the soil for future use.
He further stated that soil testing kits are available in the department and requested the farmers to conduct regular testing of soil.
World Soil Day was also observed at ICAR, Manipur Centre at Lamphel under the aegis of ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra Imphal West, ICAR research complex for NEH region Manipur Centre.
Dr T Basanta, scientist (Soil Science), ICAR Manipur spoke about the history and significance of the World Soil Day.
He stated that Manipur is a land of agriculture and soil plays an important role in the lives of farmers without which agriculture is not possible.
He added that the rate of soil erosion is very high in the North East region therefore to protect the soil from erosion excessive use of chemical fertilizers should be stopped.
Use of chemical fertilizers and burning of soil and plants destroys the quality of the upper layer of the soil which is the most important layer for the growth of plants.
He appealed all to protect the soil from erosion and to apply precautionary practices to preserve the soil which will aid in protecting the environment.