‘Improving soil quality key to saving agriculture’

The younger generation holds the key to reviving agriculture and helping farmers cultivate organic produce that is safe for human consumption, Oswald Quintal, founder-director, Kudumbam Organisation, said on Thursday.

In his keynote address at a World Soil Day programme organised by the Extension Department – SHEPHERD of St. Joseph’s College in Tiruchi on Thursday, Mr. Quintal, who co-founded the non-governmental organisation Kudumbam with organic farming activists G. Nammalvar and Perianayagasamy in 1982, said that repeated use of chemical inputs in agriculture had adversely affected the quality of food.

“Chemical fertilizers and herbicides have increased the toxicity of soil, and reduced its ability to absorb nitrogen. To improve soil fertility, students should participate in initiatives to map the environmental and farming resources of rural communities. They should be at the forefront to promote organic and natural agriculture,” he said.

E. Khader Badisha, Assistant Conservator of Forests and Assistant Director (Mini Zoo), encouraged students to apply for jobs in the Indian Forest Service.

Cotton bags and seed balls were distributed by A. Gregory, project director, VOICE Trust. The day was marked with a community sapling plantation drive that will eventually be carried out in the villages mentored by the SHEPHERD outreach programme. College principal S. Mariadoss spoke.