Lok Sabha Question No. 2216 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-07-31
Subject: Fertility of Soil
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: RAJU ALIAS DEVAPPA ANNA SHETTI, LAKHAN LAL SAHU

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, COOPERATION AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2216

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 31 ST   JULY, 2018

## FERTILITY OF SOIL

## 2216.  SHRI RAJU SHETTY:

SHRI LAKHAN LAL SAHU:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ षि एवं ककसान कल्याण मंत्री be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  evaluated  the  fertility  of  soil  across  the  country  and provided soil health card to all the farmers;
- (b) if  so,  the  norms  adopted  for  the  purpose  and  the  extent  of  soil  nutrients  and  micro, nutrients deficiency noticed in the soil, State/UT-wise;
- (c) the  details  of  the  schemes  and  projects  under  implementation  to  check  the  declining fertility of agricultural land and improve the fertility of soil for increasing agricultural production in the  country  including  Maharashtra  and  the  success  achieved  thereunder  during  the  current year;
- (d) the details of the financial assistance provided to farmers under the National Project on Management  of  Soil  Health  and  Fertility  (NPMSH&F)  to  improve  the  soil  health  and  fertility during each of the last three years and the current year, State-wise; and
- (e) the details of the soil-testing centres set-up across the country so far, State-wise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ षि एवं ककसान कल्याण मंत्रालय में राज्य मंत्री (SHRI  GAJENDRA SINGH SEKHAWAT)

- (a):    Yes,  a  dedicated  scheme  on  'Soil  Health  Card' has been  launched to take  care  of  Soil Health for the first time in a uniform manner to evaluate the soil fertility across the country by the GOI in cooperation with state governments Soil Health Card contains the status of soils with respect to 12 parameters, namely - N, P, K (Macro-nutrients), S (Secondary-nutrients), Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, B (Micro-nutrients) and pH, EC, OC (Physical Parameters). It also provides crop wise fertiliser  recommendations. Soil Health Card helps farmers to improve productivity by maintaining soil health. SHC also promotes the judicious use of the fertilisers thus reducing the cost of cultivation.

In  all,  10.73  crore  Soil  Health  Cards  have  been  distributed  during  Cycle-I  (2015-17) whereas 4.71 crore Soil Health Cards have been distributed to the farmers across the country during Cycle-II (2017-19).

(b):      A GPS based unified criteria for Collection of Soil Samples at a grid of 2.5 ha in irrigated and 10 ha in rainfed areas are being adopted throughout the country as per suggestion of ICAR. To evaluate the extent of nutrient deficiencies in the soils, Soil Fertility Assessment and Nutrient Mapping is being done by the NRSC, Hyderabad, using soil health card data. Besides, based on soil test results available, nutrient maps are also being generated by the NIC which can be drilled down to the block / village and farmer level. Moreover, the ICAR through Indian Institute of  Soil  Science  and  All  India  Coordinated  Research  Projects  (AICRPs)  on  Soil  Test  Crop Response (STCR) , Micro- and Secondary Nutrients and Pollutant Elements (MSNP) in soils and Plants,  Long  Term  Fertilizer  Experiments  (LTFE)  and Network  Project  on  Soil  BiodiversityBiofertilizers are providing technological backstopping to various schemes related to soil fertility and fertilizer  use  in  the  country  including  Maharashtra.  The  ICAR  imparts  training,  organises Front  Line  Demonstrations  (FLDs)  to  educate  farmers  on soil  test  based  balanced  and integrated nutrient management through conjunctive use of both inorganic and organic sources (FYM, compost, biofertilizers etc.) of plant nutrients to improve soil fertility.

(c):        A  new  scheme, 'Soil Health Card' for every farmer at an interval of 2 years has been launched  by  Hon'ble  Prime  Minister  on  19 th February,  2015  with  an  aim  to  assist  state government  and  union  territory  to  provide  Soil  Health  Cards  for  all  farm  holdings  across  the country.

Soil  health  card  provides  information  to  the  farmers  on  fertility  status  of  their  soils  to enables  them  to  apply  soil  health  card  based  recommended  dosages  of  fertilizers  including micro-nutrients, bio-fertilizers, manures as well as soil ameliorants so as to check the declining fertility  of  agriculture  land  and  improve  the  fertility  of  soils  to  increase  productivity  across  the country including Maharashtra besides enhancing farmers income.

(d):       Government is implementing Soil Health Management and Soil Health Card Scheme to improve soil health and fertility.  Under these schemes financial assistance are provided to State Governments and not farmers directly.  State-wise fund released for the last three years and current financial year is given at Annexure-I & II respectively.

(e):      A statement showing state-wise number of soil testing Centres are given at AnnexureIII.

Annexure-I

## State-wise Fund Released   under Soil Health Management

(Rs. In lakh)

| Sl. No         | State 2015-16     | 2016-17   | 2017-18   | 2018-19   | Total    |
|----------------|-------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|----------|
| Sl. No         | Released          | Released  | Released  | Released  | Released |
| 1              | Andhra Pr. 289.05 | 652.21    | 1221.80   | 1393.06   | 3556.12  |
| 2 Arunachal    | Pr. 0.00          | 51.14     | 17.05     | 0.00      | 68.19    |
| 3 Assam        | 102.33            | 0.00      | 138.38    | 0.00      | 240.71   |
| 4 Bihar        | 151.88            | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 151.88   |
| 5 Chhattisgarh | 225.00            | 619.95    | 124.25    | 0.00      | 969.20   |
| 6 Goa          | 0.00              | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00     |
| 7 Gujarat      | 0.00              | 0.00      | 338.76    | 0.00      | 338.76   |
| 8 Haryana      | 0.00              | 258.07    | 450.00    | 0.00      | 708.07   |
| 9 Himachal Pr. | 90.60             | 180.71    | 56.30     | 0.00      | 327.61   |
| 10 J & K       | 25.31             | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 25.31    |
| 11 Jharkhand   | 16.88             | 337.13    | 0.00      | 0.00      | 354.00   |
| 12 Karnataka   | 292.50            | 927.16    | 432.36    | 711.89    | 2363.90  |
| 13 Kerala      | 40.48             | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 40.48    |
| 14 Madhya Pr.  | 0.00              | 3877.14   | 0.00      | 0.00      | 3877.14  |
| 15 Maharashtra | 319.50            | 1721.07   | 0.00      | 0.00      | 2040.57  |
| 16 Manipur     | 0.00              | 0.00      | 67.50     | 0.00      | 67.50    |
| 17 Meghalaya   | 0.00              | 41.57     | 0.00      | 0.00      | 41.57    |
| 18 Mizoram     | 0.00              | 44.35     | 0.00      | 0.00      | 44.35    |
| 19 Nagaland    | 40.50             | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 40.50    |
| 20 Odisha      | 196.88            | 0.00      | 298.12    | 114.75    | 609.75   |
| 21 Punjab      | 0.00              | 0.00      | 246.76    | 11.25     | 258.01   |
| 22 Rajasthan   | 771.30            | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 771.30   |
| 23 Sikkim      | 15.00             | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 15.00    |
| 24 Tamil Nadu  | 305.76            | 60.00     | 0.00      | 250.13    | 615.89   |
| 25 Telengana   | 167.50            | 441.00    | 802.05    | 0.00      | 1410.55  |
| 26 Tripura     | 28.40             | 288.74    | 0.00      | 0.00      | 317.14   |
| 27 Uttar Pr.   | 838.13            | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 838.13   |
| 28 Uttarakhand | 19.75             | 0.00      | 24.75     | 48.46     | 92.96    |
| 29 West Bengal | 478.13            | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 478.13   |
| 30 Puducherry  | 0.00              | 50.00     | 0.00      | 0.00      | 50.00    |
| 31 FACT Kochi  | 24.02             | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 24.02    |
| Total          | 4438.89           | 9550.22   | 4218.07   | 2529.54   | 20736.72 |

Annexure-II

State-wise fund released  under Soil Health Card Scheme

(Rs. In lakh)

| Sl. No         | State         | 2015-16   | 2016-17   | 2017-18   | 2018-19   | Total    |
|----------------|---------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|----------|
| Sl. No         | State         | Released  | Released  | Released  | Released  | Released |
| 1              | Andhra Pra.   | 457.75    | 1394.47   | 1225.67   | 672.98    | 3750.87  |
| 2              | Arunachal Pr. | 17.18     | 37.37     | 20.79     | 49.40     | 124.74   |
| 3              | Assam         | 142.07    | 365.03    | 0.00      | 0.00      | 507.10   |
| 4              | Bihar         | 488.17    | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 488.17   |
| 5              | Chhattisgarh  | 281.03    | 342.72    | 888.12    | 350.05    | 1861.91  |
| 6 Goa          |               | 12.42     | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 12.42    |
| 7 Gujarat      |               | 603.46    | 528.69    | 1990.36   | 0.00      | 3122.51  |
| 8 Haryana      |               | 288.22    | 0.00      | 1065.05   | 800.23    | 2153.50  |
| 9 Himachal     | Pr.           | 47.34     | 29.42     | 136.34    | 113.09    | 326.19   |
| 10 J & K       |               | 77.16     | 0.00      | 0.00      | 246.54    | 323.70   |
| 11 Jharkhand   |               | 53.97     | 64.18     | 0.00      | 0.00      | 118.15   |
| 12             | Karnataka     | 650.25    | 1029.80   | 1135.63   | 835.33    | 3651.01  |
| 13 Kerala      |               | 60.93     | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 60.93    |
| 14 Madhya      | Pr.           | 888.05    | 1373.54   | 2669.47   | 2097.56   | 7028.62  |
| 15 Maharashtra |               | 932.30    | 1910.73   | 1066.77   | 1560.21   | 5470.01  |
| 16 Manipur     |               | 17.58     | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 17.58    |
| 17 Meghalaya   |               | 20.60     | 0.00      | 40.26     | 30.48     | 91.34    |
| 18             | Mizoram       | 13.79     | 6.15      | 12.25     | 17.48     | 49.67    |
| 19             | Nagaland      | 22.46     | 17.55     | 0.00      | 40.03     | 80.04    |
| 20             | Odisha        | 269.89    | 304.48    | 451.33    | 341.96    | 1367.66  |
| 21             | Punjab        | 304.98    | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 304.98   |
| 22             | Rajasthan     | 875.79    | 1108.29   | 0.00      | 2109.67   | 4093.75  |
| 23             | Sikkim        | 11.81     | 0.00      | 13.51     | 66.35     | 91.67    |
| 24 Tamil       | Nadu          | 469.51    | 644.92    | 868.91    | 964.64    | 2947.98  |
| 25 Telengana   |               | 352.92    | 468.25    | 705.39    | 0.00      | 1526.56  |
| 26             | Tripura       | 22.71     | 59.21     | 33.48     | 26.42     | 141.82   |
| 27             | Uttar Pr.     | 1716.42   | 2442.05   | 2256.36   | 2319.31   | 8734.13  |
| 28             | Uttarakhand   | 65.19     | 144.70    | 92.54     | 163.85    | 466.27   |
| 29 West        | Bengal 480.12 |           | 1094.96   | 591.01    | 637.18    | 2803.27  |
| 30 Puducherry  |               | 0.00      | 0.00      | 13.64     | 0.00      | 13.64    |
| 31             | A&N Island    | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 5.78      | 5.78     |
| 32             | D&N Haveli    | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 6.26      | 6.26     |
|                | Total         | 9644.07   | 13366.49  | 15276.87  | 13454.78  | 51742.20 |

## Statement of State-wise number of Soil Testing Labs

|   Sl. No | State             |   Number of STLs |
|----------|-------------------|------------------|
|        1 | Andhra Pradesh    |               97 |
|        2 | Karnataka         |               71 |
|        3 | Kerala            |               28 |
|        4 | Tamil Nadu        |               50 |
|        5 | Puducherry        |                2 |
|        6 | A & N Islands     |                1 |
|        7 | Telangana         |                3 |
|        8 | Gujarat           |              141 |
|        9 | Madhya Pradesh    |              338 |
|       10 | Maharashtra       |              206 |
|       11 | Rajasthan         |              114 |
|       12 | Chhattisgarh      |               33 |
|       13 | Goa               |                4 |
|       14 | Haryana           |               41 |
|       15 | Punjab            |               71 |
|       16 | Uttarakhand       |               16 |
|       17 | Uttar Pradesh     |              291 |
|       18 | Himachal Pradesh  |               21 |
|       19 | Jammu &Kashmir    |               24 |
|       20 | Delhi             |                1 |
|       21 | Bihar             |               45 |
|       22 | Jharkhand         |                8 |
|       23 | Orissa            |               33 |
|       24 | West Bengal       |               36 |
|       25 | Assam             |               15 |
|       26 | Tripura           |               10 |
|       27 | Manipur           |                8 |
|       28 | Meghalaya         |                6 |
|       29 | Nagaland          |                4 |
|       30 | Arunachal Pradesh |                8 |
|       31 | Sikkim            |                6 |
|       32 | Mizoram           |                6 |

********

## Annexure-III