8,300 soil testing labs set up since 2014-15

New Delhi: Nearly 8,300 soil testing labs have been set up across the country since 2014-15 as part of the government’s efforts to improve soil health and reduce input cost incurred by farmers to grow crops, according to an official.

These are static soil testing labs, mobile testing labs, mini labs and village level soil testing labs. That apart, the government has also distributed 23.58 lakh soil health cards to farmers free of cost. The move is aimed at promoting balanced use of fertilisers, cut input cost and boost crop productivity. “The root of farmers’ welfare is in the health of soil,” a senior government official said. The government is implementing Soil Health Management & Soil Health Card Schemes under the National Project on Soil Health & Fertility of National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture since the year 2014-15. Now, these schemes have been merged as Soil Health & Fertility component of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY). “So far, 23.58 crore soil health cards have been distributed free-of-cost to farmers under the scheme,” the official said. Based on the recommendations on Soil Health Card (SHC), the trainings and demonstrations are conducted to create the awareness among the farmers for adopting the recommendations on judicious use of chemical fertilizers. So far, 93,781 farmer’s trainings, 6.45 lakh demonstrations, 7,425 farmer’s melas/ campaigns on soil health card recommendations have been organized across the country, the official highlighted. Since 2014-15, the official said that a total of 8,272 soil testing labs have been set up across the country. Out of these, 1,068 are static soil testing labs, 163 mobile soil testing labs, 6,376 mini soil testing labs and 665 village level soil testing labs. “Total Rs 229.95 crore has been released to states/UTs for soil testing labs under the scheme. Out of this, Rs 83.31 crore has been released to states/UTs for the past five years,” the official said. Soil health card helps farmers in deciding which fertilisers to use and in what quantities. Soil health card provides information to farmers on nutrient status of their soil along with recommendations on appropriate dosage of nutrients to be applied for improving soil health and its productivity.