Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan planted a sapling on Monday, 1 June 2026, at village Ramasiya in Raisen district, Madhya Pradesh, marking the launch of the nationwide Khet Bachao Abhiyan (Save the Farm Campaign) — a tree-planting drive he described as service to nature, which he likened to a mother.

Chouhan, who has maintained a personal pledge of planting at least one sapling every day, was joined at the launch by Sanchi MLA Dr P.R. Choudhary and Raisen BJP District President Rakesh Sharma, along with other party workers. The event was part of his ongoing #OnePlantADay initiative, which he has promoted consistently on social media.

Context

In his post, Chouhan wrote: 'Maa samaan prakriti ki seva ke is abhiyan mein' — 'in this campaign of service to nature, which is like a mother' — framing the drive in cultural and emotional terms familiar to rural audiences in central India. He also called on citizens to become a 'Shiv Vriksh Mitra' (Shiv Tree Friend) by giving a missed call to 8929629475, positioning citizen participation as the campaign's backbone.

The launch was held in Ramasiya village, a grassroots setting that underlines the campaign's stated focus on farm-level afforestation rather than urban greening alone. Raisen district lies in the Vindhya plateau region of Madhya Pradesh, an area where agroforestry has long been considered viable for improving both soil health and farmer incomes.

Policy Backdrop

The Khet Bachao Abhiyan aligns with the National Agroforestry Policy of 2014, which sought to integrate trees on farmland to improve soil health, enhance carbon sequestration, and supplement farmer income through timber and non-timber forest produce. Chouhan's Agriculture Ministry oversees implementation of agroforestry targets that feed into India's broader climate commitments.

Successive administrations have used citizen-registration mechanisms — missed calls, app sign-ups — to build volunteer bases for green campaigns, a model that lowers the barrier to participation in rural areas with limited smartphone penetration. The Khet Bachao Abhiyan appears to follow this template. It sits alongside existing programmes such as the Green India Mission and compensatory afforestation funds managed under the CAMPA Act.

Stakeholders and Impact

Farmers and rural communities are the primary audience for this campaign. By anchoring the drive in farmland — khet means field — the initiative signals an intent to combine environmental objectives with agricultural welfare, a dual mandate that fits Chouhan's ministerial brief over both agriculture and rural development.

The missed-call registration mechanism is designed to draw in citizens beyond the party cadre, broadening the campaign's social base. If scaled nationally, the Shiv Vriksh Mitra network could serve as a volunteer corps for sapling distribution and survival monitoring — tasks that have historically been weak links in government tree-planting drives.

What's Next

The critical question is whether the Khet Bachao Abhiyan will be formally integrated into existing ministry schemes or remain a cadre-driven mobilisation exercise. Watchers will look for any official gazette notification, budget allocation, or convergence with the National Action Plan on Climate Change that would give the campaign institutional permanence beyond the current electoral cycle.

State-level rollouts across Madhya Pradesh and other BJP-governed states are likely to follow, with district-level party units expected to replicate the Raisen model. The degree to which the campaign translates sapling-planting events into measurable canopy cover will determine its long-term credibility with both farmers and environmental auditors.