News: A study conducted by the National Productivity Council (NPC) has said that the application of Soil Health Card 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.
