New Delhi, Nov 2: Many Indian farmers believe that using more fertiliser will produce a bigger harvest. The Centre's latest nationwide campaign is trying to change that thinking just as the rabi sowing season begins.

According to an official factsheet released on Monday, the government has launched Khet Bachaao Abhiyaan (KBA)-Rabi 2026. The campaign runs from October 22 to November 30 and aims to reach around 50 lakh farmers in 700 districts and 50,000 villages. Its focus is soil health, balanced fertiliser use and sustainable agriculture.

The problem it is trying to fix

The campaign is responding to problems that have been building for years. These include imbalanced nutrient application, falling soil organic matter, rising cultivation costs and the degradation of natural resources. These issues are connected. When the same nutrients are applied repeatedly without balance, soil quality declines, farmers then need more inputs to keep yields steady, and the cost of each crop rises.

That explains why the government has told states and Union Territories to prioritise 100 high fertiliser-consuming districts. In these areas, overuse is most visible, and better practices could make the biggest difference to both soil health and farm budgets.

The campaign also highlights natural farming, water conservation and efficient use of resources. Officials describe these as complements to responsible input use rather than as replacements for it.

Demonstrations in the field, not just advice

KBA uses field demonstrations as a key part of its approach. The plan includes 50,000 demonstrations with around 20 farmers attending each one, which works out to an estimated 10 lakh farmers. Many farmers are more likely to trust results they see in a neighbour's field than advice delivered in a lecture.

The campaign will be run by 4,150 teams drawn from Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and the Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA). More than 12,000 scientists and ATMA functionaries will support these teams. The plan also includes 11,750 structured training sessions.

The visit schedule is demanding. Each of the 950 ICAR institute teams must make three village visits a week, and each of the 700 KVK teams must make four. Every visit aims to bring in 100 farmers. Over five weeks, the campaign plans 5,650 awareness programmes and an estimated outreach of 28.25 lakh farmers.

The campaign also has a digital component. It projects a social media reach of 1.5 crore farmers and expects total digital outreach to grow to 2.5 crore.

Why it matters beyond the farm

More than 46 per cent of India's workforce works in agriculture and allied activities, so soil health affects much more than individual farms. Healthy soil supports higher crop yields and reduces dependence on external inputs. That helps food security, lowers farm costs and reduces the strain on the fertiliser supply chain.

Whether the campaign succeeds will depend on what happens after November 30. The real test is whether farmers in the 100 priority districts actually change how much fertiliser they apply.

With inputs from IANS.