Smart Farming, a forum convened by Greenpeace India, launched a dialogue series on Thursday to discuss sustainable farming solutions with a vision to ensure food security in the country. The series kicked off with a panel discussion on soil health and agricultural productivity in Punjab, organised in collaboration with Punjabi University, Patiala.

Scientists, farmers, development professionals and students participated in the discussion which concluded that reducing usage of agrochemicals and nourishing soil through ecological farming is the only way to save agriculture in Punjab, which is on the verge of a breakdown due to resource degradation. The experts pointed towards the need to shift to better ecological practices and also emphasised on the need for government support and research investment to catalyse this shift.

“Punjab is heading towards ecological disaster due to indiscriminate use of agrochemicals such as fertilisers and pesticides. The degraded soil in the state poses a big threat to food security and can cause serious economic implications not only for the state but also for the entire nation. Urgent steps are needed to avert a major disaster,” said Sucha Singh Gill, economics professor and Dean (Research), Punjabi University.

“The use of nitrogenous fertilisers has increased and made the soil sick. There is hardly any life left in the soil now. There is no microbial activity and productivity has gone down drastically,” said Umendra Dutt, executive director, Kheti Virasat Mission.

“The international scientific community has already realised the need to shift to ecological farming. To bring changes on the ground, a multi-stakeholder approach and broad-ended discussions are needed,” said Gopikrishna SR, sustainable agriculture campaigner, Greenpeace India.