Several Goan farmers and zonal agricultural officers recently received guidance from well-known mycologists at a ‘National Seminar on Fungal Biodiversity and Bio-prospecting in the age of Global Warming’ at the Goa university, Bambolim.
In the interactive session, specially organized for Goan farmers, Prof Manohar Acharya, president of Mycological Society of India said, “Overdose of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides are responsible not only for decreasing the agricultural productivity, but also in desertification. If this is continued, it will have a very catastrophic effect on Indian agriculture as it will threaten the food security of the country”.
The Green Revolution which took place after Independence no doubt once solved the problem of food shortage but today, it is responsible in making the soil barren and making the insecticides and pesticides futile in providing protection against diseases of crops.
There is urgent need to make judicious use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and insecticides, according to experts who spoke at the seminar.