Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday, 31 May 2026 chaired a nationwide video conference to review preparations for the 'Khet Bachao Abhiyan' (Save the Farm Campaign), set to launch on 1 June 2026 from Raisen, Madhya Pradesh. Senior agriculture officials from central and state governments, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), ICAR institutions, and agricultural universities across India participated in the preparatory meeting.

Context

Posting on X, Chouhan described the campaign as 'koi karmakand nahin' — 'no mere ritual' — but a resolve to 'save Mother Earth and secure the future of coming generations.' The drive will be launched from the soil of Raisen, a district in Madhya Pradesh that falls within Chouhan's long-standing political and administrative base, where he served as Chief Minister for four terms before joining the Union Cabinet.

The minister convened officials from KVKs, ICAR institutions, and agricultural universities alongside state and central government officers to align on the campaign's rollout. The breadth of institutions involved signals an intent to use the existing federal agricultural extension network rather than build a parallel structure.

Policy Backdrop

The Khet Bachao Abhiyan will cover a wide range of themes: balanced fertiliser use, soil testing, Soil Health Cards, natural farming, water conservation, green manure, alternative cropping in low-rainfall conditions, and identification of spurious fertilisers, seeds, and pesticides. Field-level demonstrations and practical examples are planned to promote science-based farming.

The Soil Health Card Scheme, launched nationally in 2015, provides farmers with nutrient-status reports and fertiliser recommendations for their plots — a direct policy ancestor of the soil-testing emphasis in this campaign. Similarly, the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana introduced in 2015 laid the groundwork for organic and natural farming clusters that the new drive seeks to expand upon.

Chouhan also indicated that the campaign will serve as a delivery vehicle for existing central schemes: Kisan Credit Card, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, mini seed kits, the Pulses and Oilseeds Mission, and farm mechanisation programmes. PM-KISAN provides an annual income support of Rs 6,000 to eligible landholding farmer families.

Stakeholders and Impact

The campaign targets India's farming community directly, with scientists, officials, and elected representatives asked to act as on-ground mobilisers. Chouhan appealed to all stakeholders — 'vaigyanikon, adhikariyon, janpratinidhiyon aur kisan bhai-bahon' (scientists, officials, public representatives, and farmer brothers and sisters) — to make the initiative a 'jan andolan', or people's movement, 'with full sensitivity.'

ICAR, as the apex body coordinating agricultural research and the KVK network, will play a central institutional role. KVKs are district-level farm science centres that conduct demonstrations and farmer training, making them the most direct point of contact between policy and cultivators at the ground level.

The focus on identifying counterfeit inputs — spurious fertilisers, seeds, and pesticides — addresses a persistent problem that erodes farm productivity and farmer income, particularly for smallholders who have limited means to verify input quality.

What's Next

All eyes will be on the physical launch from Raisen on 1 June 2026 and the subsequent state-level rollout of field demonstrations. The effectiveness of the campaign will depend on the depth of participation by state agriculture departments and the actual saturation of scheme benefits among farmers who have so far been left out of existing programmes. Chouhan framed the mission in collective moral terms: 'Protecting Mother Earth is our shared responsibility.'