Varanasi to be model centre for bio-pesticides project

As many as five districts of east UP, including Varanasi, are all set to become model centres for innovative biological control programme involving bio-pesticides that would soon be launched in the region by the department of Mycology and Plant Pathology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences (IAS), Banaras Hindu University (BHU).

Interestingly, the innovative programme has already received green signal from chief secretary of the state during a recent meeting held on October 21 in Lucknow. The project has also attracted sanctioning of Rs 80 lakh for promotion of bio-pesticides in the agricultural fields that would also minimise the harmful impact of chemicals present in the soil due to indiscriminate use of chemical fertilisers.

The two-year project based on promotion of integrated pest management (IPM) would provide alternatives for reducing the use of chemicals in agriculture, said Prof H B Singh, project coordinator, department of Mycology and Plant Pathology, IAS, BHU, while talking to reporters on Monday. The idea is to promote use of bio-pesticides, apart from ensuring their easy availability and access and making farmers of the region self-reliant in its production. As many as five districts of the region, including Varanasi, Chandauli, Ghazipur, Jaunpur and Azamgarh, have been selected for the project, he added on the occasion.

Notably, Prof Singh, who is also the zonal president of Indian Phytopathological Society (mid-eastern zone) has already been involved in successfully training around 3,000 farmers of Varanasi, Chandauli and Ghazipur districts under Macromode Project of state agriculture department that has been running with the support of IAS, BHU, in the last three years, that is, starting from 2007.

The best response has come from Chiraigaon (Varanasi) and Chakia block in Chandauli region, where not only the farmers have been trained in production and use of bio-pesticides, but they have also become self-reliant in the field, said Prof Singh. Saying that the success story of farmers has been responsible for getting a green signal for the innovative project, he added that the practice would be replicated in other parts of the region thus, promoting production of healthy crops, free from traces and residues of harmful chemicals.

It is also worth mentioning that a total of five projects worth Rs 3 crore, including the innovative bio-pesticides project, have been sanctioned in the recent state meeting. The projects include production of high quality seeds in BHU and adjoining regions under Dr P K Singh, department of Plant Breeding and Genetics; a similar project for RGSC (Barkachha) under Prof K P Singh; production of low irrigation crops under Dr R K Singh (Agronomy); and preparation of manures from kitchen wastes under Prof Asha Sinha of department of Mycology and Plant Pathology, BHU.