Awareness program on analysis of Soil, Water and Bio-manure

As a part of an extension activity, a team of students and Chemistry teachers, St.Philomena’s College(Autonomous), Mysuru visited Kasturu village of Chamarajanagar district to give awareness on the importance of bio-manure, analysis of soil and water (through different chemical tests). The activity was undertaken on 25.11.2020 and it was jointly held by the department of Chemistry in association with Organization for the Development of People(ODP), an NGO whose Head office is located at Bannimantap, Mysore.  

The team comprising students and staff along with the representatives of ODP reached the village on 25^th November at 10am. The preliminary exercise of conducting the proposed program was done earlier. Hence it was possible to meet the locals of Kasturu, Sappayyanapura, and Bogapura gram panchayath through the officials of ODP, Mysuru (which owns its unit in Kasturu village), The team had to interact with the farmers and to educate them about the soil test based management of their farms/fields and the need of safe drinking water to maintain health. The team could also take up collecting soil and water samples from different fields, wells and bore wells.

The Project coordinator(Agriculture),ODP, Mr.Jayaram who accompanied the team was the resource person for the short program held at Kasturu village on the said date. During the interaction with farmers, he explained the techniques to reduce the excess use of  fertilizers/manure for growing variety of crops in different seasons and also narrated the related exercises for soil test based management. He enlightened them saying that this could be done by knowing the pH of the soil, the nutrient content such as Nitrogen, Phosphorus etc. Optimal use of nutrients, based on soil analysis can improve crop productivity and minimize wastage of these nutrients, he said. He also explained about the right ways in which the soil to be collected and the amount of soil required for testing.

(Mr.Jayaram, Project coordinator (Agriculture) is seen explaining the importance of soil and water testing)

Prof.Ravi J.D.Saldanha, Associate Professor in Chemistry, St.Philomena’s College(Autonomous), Mysuru while addressing the local farmers briefed the purpose of their visit to the village. He said that the major focus of the program is on farmer awareness in rural areas. The Government has made it mandatory in its circulars that the higher education institutions such as St.Philomena’s College, have to reach out to the rural villages and learn about the social, cultural and financial status of the people living there. Also, the students under the guidance and leadership of teachers must get an exposure of the living conditions. They also should extend helping hand in whichever way possible. In this direction, St.Philomena’s College has taken a step to fulfil and follow the Government’s guidelines, he said. He gratefully acknowledged the cooperation and support received from the Director, ODP, Mysuru.

(Beneficiaries of the program – the local farmers of Kasturu village)

Prof. Agnes Sylvia D’Souza, Associate Professor in Chemistry, St.Philomena’s College(Autonomous), Mysuru who spoke on the occasion stressed the importance of the   awareness on soil analysis,  expansion of soil testing facilities, development of soil fertility maps and use of information technology in delivering soil nutrient status and appropriate recommendation to farmers. She also expressed the need of awareness campaign to increase the use of organic and bio-fertilizers and to reduce the chemical fertilizers based on the recommendations of Agricultural Ministry. She suggested for making the integrated soil nutrient management a farmer’s movement. Further, while mentioning the need for safe water for drinking, she urged that suitable analysis of water also to be also carried out frequently . A voluntary initiative together with ODP  to check the quality of water in various places in and around the village would be our next thought she opined.

It was then considered to collect the water samples from various sites in the next visit. The onsite analyses of biological parameters  and chemical analysis also to be carried out. Analysis results will be compared with ISO standards for drinking water. The results of analysis will be extensively studied to evaluate the condition of water.  Conclusions of this study may help decide major steps in field of improvement in water quality.

It is to be noted that right from its inception, Organization for the Development of People(ODP) has been at the service of the needy and the neglected. In a generous gesture to help the local farmers during this tough time due to Corona virus pandemic, the organisation came up with an initiative to distribute kits consisting of pulse seeds to the families of Kasturu village. As part of this ongoing process, during the program, the team led by Mr.Jayaram and others from ODP distributed kits to the farmers in Kasturu village. Approximately 50 people benefitted from this.

Ms.Archana Mendonca, Asst.Professor, Dept.of Chemistry, St.Philomena’s College, Mysuru and  Mrs.Rose Esther, President of Pragati women’s organization, Kasturu village empowerment  were also present for the programme.