Awareness Programme on “Application of pesticides in rice” for Farmers of Bargarh

Awareness programme on “Application of Pesticides in Rice” for VAWs/AOs ofBargarh District of Odisha

An awareness programmewas organized on “Application of Pesticides in Rice” by the Crop Protection Division at ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack on 12th June 2018. Thirty Village Agricultural Workers(VAWs)/Agricultural Overseers from different blocks of Bargarh District of Odisha nominated under ATMA, Bargarh, participated in the training programme. The training programmewas sponsored by ATMA, Bargarh andthis was second in series. Earlier, similar training programmewas organized for the progressive farmers and KrushakSathi of the district on 6th December 2017. The major objective of the programme was to sensitize the participants about “use of right pesticides at right time using right technique” with an emphasis on management of brown plant hopper in rice.

The programme dealt with different aspects of rice pest management. Participants were given hands-on-training to identify different rice pests (insects and diseases) and their symptoms. Detailtraining was impartedon the occurrence of pests in relation to weather conditions and their management strategies. Participants were informed about the rules and regulations related to pesticides, their labels, poisoning and safe handling. A practical demonstration was held on right method of pesticide application in the field. NRRI technologies for pest management, more importantly RiceXpert, was demonstrated to them. There was discussion among NRRI scientists and participants on various issues of pest management.

Valedictory session was held under the chairmanship of the Director, ICAR-NRRI in which, Course Coordinator, Dr. T Adak presented a brief account of the programme.Dr. Mayabini Jena, Head, Crop Protection Division informed about the existing knowledge gaps in pest identification and proper pesticide selection.She opined that this training is the foundation to fulfill these gaps.  Dr. H Pathak, Director, ICAR-NRRI urged the VAWs/AOs to disseminate the knowledge learnt to their colleagues and the farmers.  He urged the participants to treat pesticides as “Economic Poison”.

Dr. P C Rath, Course Director of the programme proposed vote of thanks.