City Desk :
Substantial and sustainable promotion of balanced fertilization can be the best way of protecting soil health from further degradation besides boosting crop production to ensure food security.
Utmost emphasis should be given on habituating the grassroots farmers towards soil test-based balanced fertilization. There would be no fertilizer crisis in the country if the farmers were enriched with the knowledge of balanced fertilization.
Field level officials and others concerned, particularly the Sub Assistant Agriculture Officer (SAAO), have a vital role to play to disseminate and expand the knowledge among the farmers in general.
Agricultural and soil health experts came up with the observation while addressing the inaugural session of a five-day training course titled “Updating Upazila Land and Soil Resources Utilisation Guide” being held at the zonal office conference hall of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in Rajshahi on Saturday, reports BSS.
Soil Resource Development Institute (SRDI) hosted the workshop on behalf of its ‘Strengthening of Soil Resource and Research Facilities (SRSRF)’ Project for around 50 SAAOs coming from Rajshahi, Naogaon, Chapainawabganj and Natore districts. SRDI Director General Muhammad Kamaruzzaman addressed the session as chief guest, while Project Director Dr Abdul Bari and DAE Additional Director Nazrul Islam spoke as special guests with SRDI Director Liakat Hossain in the chair.
SRDI Principal Scientific Officers Dr Nurul Islam, Nazmul Islam and Shahidul Islam and Senior Scientific Officer Nilufer Yeasmin also spoke disseminating their expertise on the importance of soil test based fertilization.
Soil expert Kamaruzzaman called for creating awareness among farmers on using appropriate and balanced fertiliser in soil to enhance productivity as well as protect public health. He said the SAAOs should take the responsibility of letting the farmers know about the importance of using suitable fertiliser based on the condition of the soil as soil nutrients have gradually been declining due to disproportionate use of fertiliser creating a negative impact on the soil productivity.
Lesser use of organic matter and little or no use of leguminous green manure and biofertilizers have also been detected as the degradable factors.
However, soil test based fertilisation has become indispensable to maintain soil properties positive to growth of plants, he said. In the workshop, the participants are being given knowledge related to detecting spurious fertilizer and sample analysis, available mobile soil test laboratory facilities to detect soil productivity and degradation and fertilizer using guidelines.
