Government Organizing the Campaign for Soil Health Awareness.

To keep their soil healthy, the government is doing every possible effort, the farmers owe their income to the yield in the field, said Shri Radha Mohan Singh, Union Minister of the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The Minister of Agriculture stated it in the programme on World Soil Day in College of Engineering, Bilda, Roorkee(Uttarakhand).

To increase the knowhow about soil and soil management and to reduce the gapes existed between the scientist/extension personnel as well as farmers, Soil Health Card scheme was initiated in 2015, said the Minister. To facilitate the scientific information based on the requirements of the farmers, this programme is being operationalised. Government aims to issue Soil Health Cards based on soil testing to all of 14 crore farmers on the cycle of two years, said Shri Singh.

The soil of the field is the pivotal source of agricultural products, he said. Soil provides nutritional elements as well as water to the plants. 95% of food sources are obtained from the soil.

Without the help of healthy soil we cannot produce healthy food grains. Soil not only produces food grains but also it ensieves rain pour water, stores carbon. Millions and millions micro virus are comprised with a handful soil. For the storage of the carbon and to combat the effects created by climate change, it is very necessary to maintain the potentiality of soil.

To make the farmers aware about their betterment and to recommend the points based on soil health so as to utilize the balanced quantity of the fertilizers as per the status of soil health, the government aims at to assess the systems related to Soil Health management, said Minister.

Consequent upon which the productivity will be enhanced. To collect soil samples, national parameters/ standards are being utilized. It also provides to arrange exhibition so as to expose developed nutritionals process to the farmers. The farmers will be benefited from this scheme and it will provide a platform to entertain the sustainability of agricultural sector, he said. The soil data and information concerned will be provided to all of the farmers easily.

He also called for the state governments to accelerate the campaign for soil health awareness. To make the farmers aware about the importance of soil health on the occasion of World Soil Day, the awareness campaigns are being conducted across the country.

The worthwhile pieces of advice meant for the farmers on world soil day are as follow:-
- To maintain the fertility of the soil as per the instructions issued by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, a number of devices will be included in soil health management.
- Soil Health Card promotes the balanced and rationalized use of nutrition on the farm.
- By motivating integrated nutrition management, the consumption of chemical fertilizers will be reduced
- The micro nutritional elements with first and secondary basis keeping in view the soil testing may be used.
- Under integrated nutrition management, adopt compost, manure, rural compost, urban compost, green manure in the particular sector of farming.
- By using different types of bio fertilizers, Reduce the cost of farming.
- To have improvements in soil fertility, assimilate residuals while ploughing the fields.
- To utilize that and enhance your income, get your soil card made.

Source: http://pib.nic.in/