ICAR soil health campaign reaches 50 farmers across Meghalaya hills

Fifty farmers, more than half of them women, have already joined an ICAR-led soil health campaign that runs across Meghalaya until November 30. The Khet Bachao Abhiyan Rabi Campaign opened on October 22 and targets two of the state's hill districts, Ri-Bhoi and East Khasi Hills, with a practical programme built around soil testing, liming and safer tools for sloping land.

Scientists from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) began in Umsarang village, in the Bhoirymbong Block of Ri-Bhoi. Twenty farmers attended, ten of them women. The team then moved to Puriang village in the Mawrynkneng Block of East Khasi Hills, where 30 farmers took part and women made up 27 of the group. That ratio underlines how much of the daily field work in these districts falls to women.

What did farmers receive?

The programme did not stop at advice. ICAR distributed 20 small farm tools, 5 kg of French bean seeds and 5 kg of coriander seeds among the participants at Umsarang. The seed choice matters for growers deciding on a Rabi-season crop: French beans and coriander both suit Meghalaya's winter growing window and offer a fast return on small plots.

The tools address a different problem. Cultivation on sloping land in the hills is physically demanding and carries occupational health risks, and hand labour with unsuitable implements makes it worse. ICAR's team pressed the case for appropriate machinery matched to gradient, arguing that the right tool reduces the physical toll of cultivation as directly as the right fertiliser raises yield.

Why soil testing and liming?

The core agronomic message centred on nutrient management. Farmers were told to test their soil before applying fertiliser, so that applications correct measured deficiencies rather than follow habit. Blanket dressing on untested acid soils wastes money and can lock up nutrients the crop never reaches.

Liming received equal weight. Much of Meghalaya's hill soil is acidic, and acidity restricts both crop growth and the availability of nutrients already present in the ground. Correcting pH with lime can unlock existing soil fertility before a farmer spends a rupee on additional inputs. For a grower in Ri-Bhoi deciding how to spend a limited input budget, a soil test plus a liming schedule comes ahead of extra bags of fertiliser.

What happens next?

The campaign continues across Meghalaya until November 30, with further village-level programmes planned in the same direct-engagement format. ICAR's stated aim is to give farmers practical knowledge for informed decisions on soil management and field operations, cut the labour burden of hill cultivation and improve safety, all with a view to lifting agricultural productivity.

Farmers in the participating districts should watch for the schedule of upcoming village visits before the campaign closes on November 30, and those who missed the Umsarang and Puriang sessions can still access soil testing guidance through the programme.