Soil Nutrient Management in India

A balanced soil-nutrient profile is crucial for enhancing crop and soil productivity. However, the deterioration of soil health is a major concern in India, attributed largely to the current fertiliser-subsidy system that heavily emphasizes urea.

Fertiliser Use and Soil Imbalance

• The emphasis on urea has led to an imbalance in soil nutrients, characterized by excessive nitrogen use and insufficient phosphorus and potassium.
• According to the Fertiliser Statistics Report, the NPK-use ratio was 7.7:3.1:1 in 2021-22, deviating from the ideal 4:2:1 ratio.
• Excess nitrogen leads to reduced soil productivity, nutrient runoffs, and groundwater contamination.

Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme

• Recently completed 10 years, the SHC scheme provides farmers personalized recommendations for soil health and appropriate fertiliser selection.
• Over 247 million SHCs distributed; 8,272 soil-testing labs (STLs) established, including 665 village-level STLs in 17 states.
• Decentralization of labs aims to provide timely and accurate soil analysis results to farmers.
• 1,020 schools have implemented the school soil-health programme, enrolling over 100,000 students with 1,000 STLs set up.
• Geospatial technology use for soil mapping and SHC mobile app to link soil sample locations with results is being applauded.

Technological Interventions and Challenges

• Infrastructure and skilled workforce are essential for STLs, yet many suffer from inadequate resources and staffing.
• Many farmers face delays in receiving reports, and some do not implement SHC recommendations.
• Portable AI-enabled soil testing kits like "KRISHI-RASTAA Soil Testing System" offer potential solutions. This IoT-based platform can conduct 12 soil parameter tests within 30 minutes.
• Agritech startups are crucial for advancing rapid soil testing using AI and providing innovative, scalable, and cost-effective solutions.

Recommendations

• SHC scheme should focus more on farmer awareness and ensure implementation of recommendations.
• Provision of real-time agronomic advisory services is essential.