Bank of Maharashtra has set up a soil testing laboratory at Bhigwan near Pune with Mahabank Agricultural Research and Rural development Foundation’ (MARDEF) in association with Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilisers Ltd.
Minister for Agriculture & Marketing, Maharashtra State Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and the Minister for Cooperation and Parliamentary Affairs Harshawardhan Patil today inaugurated the lab in Bhigwan.
Speaking on this occasion Vikhe Patil, said "It is commendable that the bank has given impetus and importance to farming, it is not possible for the agriculture sector to be successful any more without such state of infrastructure facilities like the soil testing centre. All other banks must follow the example set up by Bank of Maharashtra in setting up centres which would benefit farmers in a long run."
A S Bhattacharya, CMD, Bank of Maharashtra said, "The lab will cater to the needs of the farmers in the surrounding four districts of Pune, Satara, Ahmednagar and Solapur. The farmers will be explained about the utilities of soil test lab. The soil samples collected from the fields will be tested in the lab and soil test report indicating the major nutrients content in the soil and corrective dosage of fertilizers will be suggested to maintain soil fertility and improving crop yields.
Harshavardhan Patil said that the state government could provide seed, fertilizers , and loans to farmers at cheap rates but such tests were not possible without help of institutions like the Bank of Maharashtra. "The new centre will be boon to framers who can get the soil and water tested for a price as low as Rs 25", he added.
