Raipur, May 30, 2026: In order to make the month-long “Khet Bachao Abhiyan”, starting from June 1, effective and result-oriented, Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan today directed the officials to focus on saving the farms, balancing the costs and providing timely and right guidance to farmers.
Chouhan has conveyed a message of making “Khet Bachao Abhiyan” not just an awareness programme but a comprehensive national campaign connecting farms, farmers and villages.
Charing a high level meeting regarding the preparations of the campaign in Delhi today, Chouhan said that the focus of the campaign will be on balanced and judicious use of fertilisers, timely advice to famers in the view of weather related challenges, active participation at panchayat level and delivering the benefits of the schemes directly to the villages.
He said that the campaign will not run on top-down model. Instead, partnership from Panchayat to State and Centre will be ensured.
In the meeting, the Union Minister emphasised that minimizing the reckless use of chemical fertilisers would be the prime objective of the campaign. The aim is to sensitize the farmers about the balanced use of fertilisers and other agricultural inputs based on soil tests, motivating them to increase the use of green manures, organic and bio-products. Live demonstrations of Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) will also be held.
Agriculture Minister Chouhan said that farmers will be provided practical advice in the view of weather related concerns in coming days. Constructive suggestions will be given on dos and don’ts, correct crop options, crop diversification and farming in case of water scarcity or risk. The purpose of the campaign will not be just to deliver a message, but to give right advice to the farmers at the farm level as per the situation.
During the meeting, the Union Minister also said that a strong foundation will be laid for the campaign at the panchayat level. He directed the officials to include the distribution of mechanisation machines and the benefits of schemes and government programmes at the panchayat level under this campaign.
Chouhan also said that the campaign will not be confined to departmental scope only. Chief Ministers of States will be urged and efforts will be made to ensure participation of ministers, MPs, MLAs and other public representatives so that the campaign goes beyond the ambit of an administrative programme and become a robust model of public participation. He said this approach will give political, social and local energy to the campaign from its early days.
It was informed in the meeting that KVKs have been assigned the role of key coordinators for all participating institutions. Over 1600 teams have been formed. Total 500 teams have been constituted for 100 districts of excessive fertiliser use. The teams will include scientists from KVKs, ICAR institutes, AICRP centres and officials from Agriculture Department. Besides, more than 1150 multidisciplinary teams from ICAR institutes and KVKs will also work simultaneously.
Shivraj Singh said that the campaign will not be limited to fertiliser management only. The benefits of various schemes will also be taken to the farm. The integrated approach of activities like linking the left out beneficiaries of Kisan Credit Card and PM-KISAN, Pulses-Oilseeds Mission, Oil Palm, Cotton Mission, balanced nutrition, soil health, water conservation and region-specific agricultural advisories will make the campaign multipurpose and effective.
The Union Minister said that the key to the success of the campaign is that the message should be practical and visible on the ground and the local structure are associated with it. The basic points to be kept in mind during the campaign are low and balanced use of fertilisers, advice on farming according to the weather, panchayat-level activism, inclusion of benefits of machinery and schemes and participation of public representatives. The direction of the campaign is quite clear: save the farms, manage the costs, improve the soil, make farmers aware and develop a new culture of agricultural management at the village level.
