Despite the challenges posed by the monsoon season, the Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan (VKSA), a nationwide agricultural initiative, was officially inaugurated in Nagaland on May 29, in alignment with the national vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), in collaboration with 731 Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVKs), 113 ICAR institutes, 63 State Agricultural Universities (SAUs), 3 Central Agricultural Universities (CAUs), and every State Governments, is spearheading this campaign, informed a press release by Dr. Sandeep Deshmukh, Senior Scientist & Head, ICAR- KVK, Wokha and Nodal Officer (Press & Media Release), VKSA, Nagaland State.
The coordinated Initiative aims to engage approximately 1.5 crore farmers across more than 700 districts by June 12, with the objective of promoting sustainable agricultural and enhancing direct interactions between farmers, officials and scientists. In Nagaland, the campaign commenced with ceremonial flag-offs of Krishi Rath-Special Vans across all districts, attended by public representatives and district administration.
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A total of 36 teams comprising scientists from ICAR, Central Agricultural University (CAU), Nagaland University School of Agricultural Sciences (SAS), Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), and officials from State Government departments are actively participating.
According to the press release, each team is scheduled to visit three villages daily, engage directly with farmers to disseminate improved agricultural technologies, and inform them of various government schemes. To date, these teams have covered 324 villages interacting with over 30,000 plus farmers, including 13,947 women and 16,065 men. The teams has also documented village-specific problems, technology gaps and priorities of farmers to inform future research and government policies.
The VKSA campaign focuses on a range of relevant agricultural technologies for Nagaland farmers, including artificial insemination (AI), integrated farming systems (IFS), backyard poultry, scientific pig farming, acid soil management, banana production and processing technologies, spices production and processing technologies, Fall Armyworm (FAW) management in maize, terrace rice cultivation, mushroom and cut flower production, jalkund for rainwater harvesting, seed production, king chilli production and value addition, millet production and processing, African swine fever awareness, and addressing citrus decline in orange.
The campaign’s bottom-up and decentralized approach not only facilitates the dissemination of improved technologies, but also enables the collection of grassroots insights and innovations, which will be instrumental in shaping future research and policies.
Community participation is deemed essential for the success of this initiative and the broader goal of realizing Viksit Bharat through Viksit Krishi. By empowering farmers with knowledge and resources, the VKSA campaign aims to transform Indian agriculture and contribute significantly to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the achievement of a five trillion-dollar economy.
