Public Section Preview
Government Schemes for Soil Health Management
The Soil Health Card Scheme was launched by the Government of India on 19 February 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Suratgarh, Rajasthan — making Rajasthan symbolically the launch site of this flagship scheme.
Objective: Provide every farmer with a Soil Health Card (SHC) containing farm-specific test results for 12 parameters — pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon (OC), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), sulphur (S), zinc (Zn), boron (B), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu) — along with fertilizer use recommendations based on test results.
National target: Issue cards to all 14.5 crore farm holdings in two cycles:
- Cycle 1 (2015–17): First card to every holding
- Cycle 2 (2017–19): Updated card
- Cycle 3 (2019 onwards): State-determined schedule
Rajasthan performance:
| Cycle | Target (lakh) | Cards Issued (lakh) | Achievement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cycle 1 (2015-17) | ~38 | 35.62 | ~94% |
| Cycle 2 (2017-19) | ~40 | 37.04 | ~93% |
| Cumulative (2015-19) | ~78 | 72.66 | ~93% |
Source: Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers' Welfare, GoI — Soil Health Card Portal data; Rajasthan Agriculture Department Annual Report 2023-24
Key national milestone: India surpassed 23 crore soil health cards by 2024. Rajasthan's contribution is among the top 5 states by absolute number of cards issued.
Impact: Post-SHC, fertilizer use efficiency improved in trial plots: nitrogen use reduced by 8–12% in areas where farmers followed recommendations; crop yields increased 5–10% in pilot districts of Ajmer and Kota.
Rajasthan maintains a network of 27 static soil testing laboratories under the Agriculture Department serving all 50 districts, each with an annual testing capacity of approximately 8,000–12,000 samples. Combined state capacity: ~4 lakh samples per year.
Additionally, the state has deployed mobile soil testing vans that travel to remote villages, bringing testing closer to farmers with limited access to district headquarters. These vans can test for primary and micro-nutrients on-site with portable spectrophotometers.
Under the Soil Health Card Scheme, laboratories were strengthened with automated soil analysis equipment to meet the surge in sample testing demand (2015-2019). Private and SAU (State Agricultural University) labs at SKRAU Bikaner (Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agricultural University) and MPUAT Udaipur (Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology) supplement state capacity.
7.3 National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture — NMSA
The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), one of the eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), focuses on soil health management, rainfed area development, on-farm water management, and climate change adaptation for agriculture.
Key NMSA components in Rajasthan:
- Soil Health Management (SHM): Capacity building for soil testing; training of farmers on balanced fertilizer use; demonstration plots.
- Rainfed Area Development (RAD): Integrated farming systems for 18 arid and semi-arid districts — promotes millet-legume cropping, pasture establishment, and organic inputs to reduce soil degradation.
- Climate Change and Sustainable Agriculture (CCSA): Adaptation protocols for saline/alkaline soils under changing monsoon patterns.
Rajasthan Organic Farming Policy 2017: Rajasthan notified this policy to promote chemical-free farming and reduce soil health damage from excess synthetic fertilizer use. Target: convert 10% of cultivated area (approximately 6 lakh ha) to certified organic by 2025.
Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY): Cluster-based organic farming under which farmers form 50-member groups, commit to chemical-free farming for 3 years, and receive ₹50,000/ha support over the period. Rajasthan has covered approximately 2.8 lakh hectares under PKVY by 2024.
Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF): Promoted in Rajasthan through Agriculture Department workshops and ATMA (Agricultural Technology Management Agency) extension workers. Relies on bijamrit (bio-seed treatment), jeevamrit (microbial inoculant), and mulching — all contributing to rebuilding soil organic matter.