Soil Health Card (SHC) is a Government of India’s scheme promoted by the Department of Agriculture & Cooperation. It is being implemented through the Department of Agriculture of all the State and Union Territory Governments. A Soil Health Card is used to assess the current status of soil health and, when used over time, to determine changes in soil health that are affected by land management.
Features of Soil Health Card Scheme
- A Soil Health Card displays soil health indicators and associated descriptive terms. The indicators are typically based on farmers’ practical experience and knowledge of local natural resources.
- The card lists soil health indicators that can be assessed without the aid of technical or laboratory equipment.
- SHC will contain the status of soil with respect to 12 parameters, namely N,P,K (Macronutrients); S (Secondary- nutrient); Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, Bo (Micronutrients); and pH, EC, OC (Physical parameters). Based on this, the SHC will also indicate fertilizer recommendations and soil amendment required for the farm.
Objectives of the Soil Health Card Scheme
- To issue soil health cards every 3 years, to all farmers of the country, so as to provide a basis to address nutrient deficiencies in fertilization practices.
- To strengthen functioning of Soil Testing Laboratories (STLs) through capacity building, involvement of agriculture students and effective linkage with Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)/ State Agricultural Universities (SAUs).
- To diagnose soil fertility related constraints with standardized procedures for sampling uniformly across states and analysis and design taluqa/ block level fertilizer recommendations in targeted districts.
- To develop and promote soil test based nutrient management in the districts for enhancing nutrient use efficiency.
- To build capacities of district and state level staff and of progressive farmers for promotion of nutrient management practices.
Benefits of Soil Health Card Scheme
- The scheme will monitor the soil and will give farmers a formatted report. So, they can decide which crops they should cultivate and which ones they should skip.
- The authorities will monitor the soil on a regular basis. One in every 3 years, they will provide a report to farmers. So, farmers need not worry if the nature of the soil changes due to certain factors. Also, they will always have updated data about their soil.
- The work of the government does not stop at listing down measures required to improve the quality of the soil. In fact, they will also employ experts to help farmers in carrying out the corrective measures.
- Farmers can study the soil management practices. Accordingly, they can plan the future of their crops and land.
- Generally, in government schemes, the person carrying out the study for a particular farmer gets changed. But in the Soil Health Card scheme, the government is paying attention that the same person carries out soil analysis for a farmer. This will further enhance the effectiveness of the scheme.
- The soil card will give the farmers a proper idea of which nutrients their soil is lacking. And hence, which crops they should invest in. they will also tell which fertilizers they need. So, ultimately, the crop yield will see a rise.
