Dr. U.S. Awasthi is the Managing Director & CEO of Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) India. He is a chemical engineer from the well-known Banaras Hindu University, and through his active involvement in agriculture, he has impacted the lives of thousands of farmers across India.
Dr. Awasthi has over 5 decades of experience in the fertilizer industry, and has been the driving force behind the success of IFFCO India. He is the brainchild behind various initiatives, and has contributed hugely to the agricultural sector in India. Some of his key initiatives include startup incubation, bhumi bachao (save the soil), neem plantation, and service for farmers.
Save the Soil - Bhoomi Bachao Initiative
In order to address the critical issues related to soil health and crop productivity stagnation, IFFCO India under the guidance of IFFCO MD Dr. U.S. Awasthi launched the ‘Save the Soil- Bhoomi Bachao’ initiative. Under this initiative, a pilot project titled "Soil Rejuvenation and Productivity enhancement" was started in 16 villages of Bighapur of district Unnao in Uttar Pradesh from May 2009, in the initial phase.
The objective of soil rejuvenation was to make the farmers aware about scientific agriculture to increase productivity, profitability and access better incomes. After successful outcomes in the initial phase of the project during 2009-10, the project was further implemented across all the 117 villages of Bighapur. The overall impact of the Bhoomi Bachao Initiative set a benchmark in the field of agriculture for breaking crop yield stagnation through soil rejuvenation.
Save the Soil Initiative Approach
The approach for soil rejuvenation and productivity enhancement adopted in this Project is as follows: -
· System approach for soil rejuvenation
· Yield/productivity enhancement
· Increasing productivity of rice-wheat cropping system
· Enhancing productivity of pulses
· Crop diversification
· Reclamation of alkali (usar) land
· Spreading awareness and educating farmers about soil rejuvenation and productivity enhancement through training programmes, farmers meeting, seminar, field day, farmer visits etc.
Throughout his career, Dr. U.S. Awasthi has been actively involved in spreading awareness about the best agricultural practices to educate farmers. He has also helped spread awareness of the online medium among farmers, and has launched IFFCO BAZAR - a website dedicated to farmers and cooperative societies of India. Through his hard work and innovations, he has been instrumental in making IFFCO India a global leader in fertilizer production.
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