By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, JUNE 03, 2017: SOIL Health Card, a revolutionary scheme, was initiated for farmers and it has made a huge difference to farming and farm produce. It has helped in increasing the productivity and reduced the cost of production. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the scheme on February 19, 2015, in Suratgarh, Rajasthan. Soil Health Card provides information to farmers on nutrient status of their soil along with recommendations on appropriate dosage of nutrients for improving soil health and its fertility. This also gives farmers information about the nature of the soil. And post recommendations, the farmers use fertilisers and other chemicals accordingly.
 
This reduces cost and increases production. In the first two-year (2015-17) of the Soil Health Card scheme, 2.53 million samples were collected and so far 93 percent samples have been tested. About 14 crore Soil Health Cards are being created by the State Governments and till May 31 it has been distributed among 8 crore farmers. In the next three months, the rest of the farmers will receive their Soil Health Cards. So far, the country has yielded positive results from Soil Health Card.
 
The response from farmers of 136 districts of 16 states is as follows:
 
1. Consumption of nitrogen fertilisers has decreased and the consumption of phosphorus potash and micronutrients has increased.

2. There has been 16 to 25 percent reduction in the cost of paddy farming and 10 to 15 percent reduction in pulses and oilseeds farming.

3. There has been 10 to 25 percent increase in the production of paddy, 10 to 15 percent in the production of coarse cereals, 10 to 30 percent in pulses, and 35 to 66 percent in the production of oilseeds.