Khet Bachao Abhiyan Runs to 30 November for Rabi Crops

The Khet Bachao Abhiyan, a countrywide drive for the Rabi season, is running from 22 October to 30 November 2026. Its single message is that healthy soil is the base of healthy crops, of farming that lasts and of a farmer's prosperity. On 10 November 2026 the Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, Shri Ram Nath Thakur, took part in a programme of the campaign in West Bengal.

Where the programme was held

The event took place at Subhasnagar in the Swarupnagar Block of North 24 Parganas district and was organised by the ICAR-National Institute of Natural Fibre Engineering and Technology (ICAR-NINFET). The Minister asked farmers to return to natural farming and to use the least possible quantity of chemical fertiliser so that soil health stays intact. He described natural farming as a way to hold on to soil fertility and to keep farming in balance with its surroundings, and urged the adoption of climate-resilient methods, scientific innovation and modern technology for productivity that lasts.

Soil Health Cards and the KVKs

Soil, the Minister said, has to be treated as a living resource, with inputs applied to need rather than to habit. He told farmers to put their Soil Health Cards to work when deciding how much fertiliser to apply, so that nutrients are used efficiently and fertility is not lost. He pointed to the Krishi Vigyan Kendras as the bodies that carry technical advice, field demonstrations and extension support to the village, and asked farmers to take up organic fertilisers and organic pesticides.

The Kolkata leg of the visit

Earlier the same day the Minister visited the Kolkata Centre of the ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Education (ICAR-CIFE), where he pressed for closer work between the Centre, the States, research institutes and other stakeholders so that farm programmes are carried out properly. He asked agricultural scientists to build technologies that are farmer-friendly, affordable and environmentally sound. The West Bengal Minister of Agriculture, Shri Dudh Kumar Mondal, attended as Guest of Honour, and Dr T. K. Ghoshal, Principal Scientist and Head of the Kolkata Centre, welcomed the guests. Publications were released and a review meeting was held with the State's Department of Agriculture and the ICAR institutes ICAR-CIFE, ICAR-NINFET, ICAR-ATARI and ICAR-NBSS and LUP to look at their work and at ways of tightening coordination.