On Tuesday, August 23, 2022, the Goa government signed an MoU with Sadhguru's 'Save Soil' movement and took a pledge to work towards addressing the soil crisis and take action towards increasing the organic content in cultivable soil.
The event took place at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, Bambolim, on the Goa leg of the global ‘Save Soil’ movement, led by the founder of the Isha Foundation, Sadhguru.
On the occasion, Goa Chief Minister, Pramod Sawant, said that signing the MoU with the Isha Outreach will benefit local farmers, the ecology, and the economy, and at the same time, the exchange of ideas and techniques will help in soil conservation.
"I am really impressed with the fact that Sadhguru has rightly foreseen soil infertility. Land degradation will threaten our global food security. Hence, Goa state has come forward to support Sadhguru’s Save Soil movement,” said Sawant.
He also mentioned that the focus of the state of Goa has been agriculture and tourism, which is rightly in the direction of the campaign. "Goa is one of the few states, where soil testing is being done at a rapid rate. At the same time, this initiative will help our farmers and the future generations," Sawant added.
Sawant called upon youngsters to turn back and focus on traditional occupations and make zero use of chemical fertilizers.
Speaking on the occasion, Sadhguru enticed the audience with his knowledge and humour. He spelt out to the Goan audience, which had both, younth and senior citizens, that understanding ecology is important, and it can only come when one is able to find her/himself.
Said the guru, "The ecology is the basis of every economy on this planet. But, there are debates between ‘Ecology v/s Economy’ which is not just in the first place."
Sadhguru emphasized that the destruction of the soil, which is the very basis of life, is a sacrilege. "The body that you carry is soil, the clothes that you wear is soil. Tell me one thing that is not soil,” he questioned.
His address focused on the reasons why this initiative would be relevant in the years to come; and also on the fact that everything, in the end, connects to the soil. "In order to do something for the future generation, we need to start somewhere, and we need to start now."
Goa became the ninth state of India to join the Save Soil movement, and to date, 80 countries have pledged to Save Soil from extinction.
Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are the states which signed the MoU. The journey of the campaign can be traced to March 21, 2022 when Sadhguru began a 30,000 km journey to save the soil. The journey started in London, and passed through 27 nations in Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East before culminating in India.
The MoU was signed in the presence of the Union Minister of Culture & Tourism of India, Shripad Naik; Goa Environment Minister, Nilesh Cabral; and Goa Agriculture Minister, Ravi Naik.
A handbook of the Save Soil Policy was also handed over to the Chief Minister. The book contains guidelines about the practical, scientific solutions that governments can put into action based on soil type, latitudinal positions and agricultural traditions of a given nation.
The event began with a display of Goa's cultural dance and folklore. A video, Amchi Mati, sung by the students of Bal Bhavan was also launched at the event.