Overview
- At the Bhubaneswar regional farm conference on Tuesday, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said fertilisers are hard to source in global markets and that the Centre is securing stocks through talks with 28 supplier countries.
- He cited a ₹41,000 crore subsidy recently cleared by the Cabinet to hold down fertiliser costs for the upcoming kharif sowing season.
- A nationwide Khet Bachao (Save the Farm) drive will run from June 1 to June 15 to promote soil testing, balanced nutrient use and adoption of proven tools and schemes.
- The Centre will introduce separate pesticide and seed bills to tighten quality checks and punish traders of fake or substandard farm inputs.
- Chouhan urged farmers to shift part of their land to natural methods and to diversify into pulses and oilseeds, with assured central procurement of pigeon pea, urad and lentils through 2030–31.