Pesticide-free farming gains ground with ‘Farm Field Classes’

Ashok Kumar, Patron of the Hoshiarpur-based NGO Dr Surender Dalal Keet Saksharta Mission, has been actively propagating the message of pesticide-free farming across Punjab for several years.

Kumar also established the Innovative Farmers Association (IFA) and introduced several unique initiatives, including ‘Farm Field Classes’. The NGO began its ‘Pesticide-Free Punjab’ campaign in 2016 with pesticide-free cotton cultivation in Matti village of Mansa district.

According to Ashok Kumar, the technique was originally developed by Haryana-based scientist Dr Surender Dalal, following the widespread devastation of cotton crops by the American Bollworm in 2000–01.

“Dr Dalal educated farmers in Haryana’s Jind district about the life cycles of insects and their interconnectedness with crops and farmers,” said Kumar. “After Dr Dalal’s untimely death in 2013, his mission continued under the registered farmer society named after him. He had simplified the technique to such an extent that even illiterate farmers could learn and further teach others.”

Under the guidance of Ashok Kumar, the activities later expanded to Punjab. In 2016, Punjab farmers trained in the method began conducting ‘Farm Field Classes’—informal, on-field training sessions where farmers received crop-specific tips and guidance. These sessions are popularly known as ‘Kisan Goshthis’.

The first farm field school on pesticide-free brinjal cultivation was held in Kansuh Kalan village in Patiala district during 2017–18. Since then, trained farmers from the Innovative Farmers Association, Hoshiarpur (IFA) have been conducting similar classes in the region.

In 2024, IFA organised a farm field school focused on brinjal cultivation in Chak Swana village of Hoshiarpur. Along with pesticide-free farming techniques, farmers were trained in practical seed production. The training was conducted by expert IFA farmers in collaboration with KVK and the PAU Vegetable Research Centre. Several participating farmers began implementing the learned practices on their farms.

More recently, IFA partnered with a local dealer in Hoshiarpur to supply pheromone and fruit fly traps, which lure and trap insect moths. “These traps are now being supplied throughout Punjab via this outlet,” said Kumar. IFA is also set to organise another farm field school in Hoshiarpur during the first week of May for further training of farmers.

Punjab