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New Delhi : The Soil Health Card Day will be observed on February 19, 2020. It commemorates the day Soil Health Card Scheme was launched byPM Narendra Modi on February 19, 2015, at Suratgarh, Rajasthan. Coincidentally, the International Year of Soils was celebrated the same year.
The objectives of the Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme are to issue soil health cards to farmers every two years so as to provide a basis to address nutritional deficiencies in fertilisation practices. Soil testing is developed to promote soil test based on nutrient management. Soil testing reduces cultivation cost by application of right quantity of fertiliser. It ensures additional income to farmers by increase in yields and also promotes sustainable farming, according to a PIB release.
The scheme has been introduced to assist State Governments to issue SHCs to all farmers across the country. SHC provides information to farmers on nutrient status of their soil along with recommendation on appropriate dosage of nutrients to be applied for improving soil health and its fertility.
Deterioration of soil chemical, physical and biological health is considered as one of the reasons for stagnation of agricultural productivity in India.
Indian soils are working with negative nutrient balance to the tune of 12-14 million tons per year and the negative balance is likely to increase in future even after using the full potential of fertiliser industry. The Nutrient deficiency in India is in the order of: 95, 94, 48, 25, 41, 20, 14, 8 and 6% for N, P, K, S, Zn, B, Fe, Mn and Cu respectively. The limiting nutrients do not allow the full expression of other nutrients, lower the fertiliser response and crop productivity.
Improving fertiliser/nutrient use efficiency is important rather than applying more fertiliser in Indian agriculture. Nutrient use efficiency presently is low ranging from 30-50% (Nitrogen), 15-20% (Phosphorus), 60-70% (Potassium), 8-10% (Sulphur) and 1-2% (micronutrients).
The Government under the component of Soil Health Management of National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) is promoting soil test based balanced and integrated nutrient management in the country through setting up/strengthening of soil testing laboratories, establishment of bio-fertiliser and compost unit, use of micronutrients, trainings and demonstrations on balanced use of fertilisers etc.