Seer urges farmers to opt for sustainable farming to ensure a healthy ecosystem

Sri Kada Siddeshwara Swamy emphasizes importance of ending soil degradation for sustainable farming and healthy ecosystems.

Sri Adrishya Kada Siddeshwara Swamy of Sri Kshetra Siddhagiri Maha Samsthan, Kanheri, has urged farmers to end soil degradation which will ensure future generations inherit healthy ecosystems.

Addressing a gathering at a three-day Krishi Jatre organized by Kalyana Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KKCCI) in Kalaburagi on Saturday, Sri Kada Siddeshwara Swami said that a healthy soil with a complex combination of minerals, organic matter containing air, water and life is a dynamic living ecosystem.

Elaborating the vital role of soil for farming sector, the swamiji said that a gram of soil contains as many as thousands of species, all interacting with each other to keep their soil habitat healthy and productive.

He said that the activity of these organisms, type of rock particles, volume of organic matter and proportion of air and water all combine to create varieties of soil suitable for farming.

He said that human activity is destroying the balance and a major portion of soil of the earth is already degraded.

He said that soil degradation occurs due to exhaustion of nutrients and organic matter, soil erosion, acidification, desertification and pollution. When soil erosion takes places, nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are lost, reducing crop yield.

The swamiji explained in brief about how deforestation kills microbial life in the soil making it vulnerable to erosion, while soil compaction draws the air out of the ground and prevents it from absorbing water.