Every year Soil Day is celebrated on -December 5. This year was celebrated with the theme of “Stop Soil Erosion, Save Our Future”. Youth Endeavor for Sustainable Agriculture(YES Agriculture) organized and conducted Soil test around the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science (IAAS), Paklihawa farm and farmers field near the vicinity of the college. In order to aware people about Soil degradation by excessive use of inorganic fertilizers 

we organized and demonstrated farmer about Organic Fertilizers:

1) Vermicompost preparation.

2) ‘JHOLMOL’ (Bio Fertilizer) with farmers

Inorganic fertilizer is synthetic (man-made) that involves the use of chemicals. It contains nutrients which is needed by plants such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. These nutrients are essential for plant growth. Synthetic fertilizers/inorganic fertilizers increase crop yield but also have numerous harmful effects. Synthetic fertilizers have long-term negative effects. Synthetic fertilizers kill beneficial microorganisms in the soil that convert to dead human and plants remains into nutrient-rich organic matter. Nitrogen and phosphate-based synthetic fertilizers leach into groundwater and increase its toxicity, causing water pollution. Fertilizers that leach into streams, rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water disrupt aquatic ecosystems. Synthetic fertilizers increase nitrate levels of the soil. Plants produced from such soil, upon consumption, convert to toxic nitrates in the intestines. These harmful nitrates react with the hemoglobin in the blood stream to cause methaeglobinaemia, which damages the vascular and respiratory systems causing suffocation and even death in extreme cases (when blood methaeglobinaemia level is 80 percent or more).

 Tunza Eco- generation member Meena Pandey and Ambassador Sandhya Adhikari were also there as the demonstrator.

Some summing up points are:

Advantages of using organic fertilizers

•          Balances the soil ecosystem

•          Boosts plant health naturally

•          They’re all-natural

•          The process of decomposition requires no chemical intervention

•          Organic fertilizers don’t upset the balance in the soil because they don’t leave behind any artificial compounds

•          Delivers nutrients in a slow, but sustainable rate

Disadvantages of using Inorganic Fertilizers:

- Leeching happens

- Some are not affordable

- Accumulation of toxic wastes

- Soil degradation due to excessive use