Soil Health Card scheme of Central Govt: A success story

News: A study conducted by the National Productivity Council (NPC) has said that the application of Soil Health Card scheme recommendations has led to a decline of 8-10% in use of chemical fertilizers and also raised productivity by 5-6%.

Facts:

Soil Health Card Scheme

• Launched in 2015 by the Department of Agriculture & Co-operation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. It is one of the most important interventions under National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture

Implementation: Department of Agriculture of all the State and Union Territory Governments

Features:

•  Provides for the analysis of soil composition by the State Governments once every two years.
• Soil Health Card (SHC):

o   It is a printed report of nutritional status of the soil that a farmer is given for each of his holdings

o   It contains the status of his soil with respect to 12 parameters: N, P, K (Macro-nutrients); S (Secondary- nutrient); Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, Bo (Micronutrients); and pH, EC, OC (Physical parameters).

o   Based on this, the SHC indicates fertilizer recommendations and soil amendments required for the farm.

Additional Information

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture: It seeks to enhance agricultural productivity especially in rainfed areas focusing on integrated farming, water use efficiency, soil health management, and synergizing resource conservation.

National Productivity Council:

•  It is a national level autonomous organization under the administrative control of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
•  It was established in 1958 and is headquartered in New Delhi.
•  Its function is to promote and adopt the new and improved culture of productivity in India.