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Introduction for Soil Health Card Scheme
Soil Health Card Scheme is launched by the government of India on February 19, 2015, to issue ‘Soil card’ to farmers. The Soil Health Card carries crop-wise recommendations of nutrients and fertilizers required for the individual farms. The SHC’s aim was to help farmers improve productivity through the judicious use of inputs. Soil Health Card (SHC) is a scheme promoted and given by the Department of Agriculture and Co-operation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. It is being implemented to all the State and Union Territories through the Department of Agriculture and it also promotes sustainable agriculture.
Soil Health Card Scheme is helpful for the farmers of the country. There are many farmers in India who do not know which types of crops must be grown to get more yield. Mostly, they do not know about the quality and the type of soil of their land. A Soil Health Card or SHC displays soil health indicators and associated descriptive terms. The indicators are based on farmers’ practical experience and knowledge of local natural resources. The Soil Health Card lists soil health indicators that can be assessed without the aid of technical or laboratory equipment.
Soil Health Card Scheme was the first time launched by Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 19.02.2015 at Suratgarh, Rajasthan.
In Soil Health Card Scheme, the government plans to issue soil cards to all the farmers which carry crop-wise recommendations for the individual farms in all the States to help farmers to improve crop yield. All soil samples collected from different farms are tested in different soil testing laboratories across the country. Thereafter the scientists will analyze the strength and weaknesses for example micro-nutrients deficiency of the soil and suggest recommendations to overcome it. Finally, the result and also recommendations will be displayed in the soil health cards. SHC Scheme is a beneficial scheme for farmers. There are many farmers in India and they do not know which types of crops they grow to get maximum yield. Mainly, they do not know the quality and type of soil. They might know by experience what crops grow well and what crops fail. But they don’t know what they can do to improve the soil condition.
Soil Health Card is a printed report that a farmer is given for all his land or holdings. It contains the status of soil considering 12 parameters – N, P, K means Macro-nutrients, S (Secondary- nutrient), Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, Bo such as Micronutrients and pH, EC, OC. Based on all this, the Soil Health Card will specify fertilizer recommendations and soil changes required for the farm.
This scheme aims at promoting soil test based balanced use of fertilizers and soil amendment to enable farmers to get higher yields at low cost.
The main objective of the Soil Health Card Scheme is to create awareness for farmers about the appropriate amount of nutrients for the crop depending on the quality and strength of the soil.
The main features of the Soil Health Card are as follows;
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The authorities of the scheme collect various soil samples and samples will be sent to the testing laboratories where experts would conduct tests on the samples. Soil samples are drawn by the State Government by the Department of Agriculture staffs by using GPS tools and revenue maps in a grid of about 2.5 ha in irrigated areas. Once testing of soil is done, the experts analyze the soil samples and note the strengths and weaknesses of the soil. If there can be changes made to improve the nutrients of the soil, then experts will give suggestions to make good changes. Then, the government includes all this information in the soil cards of the farmers in a comprehensive manner. A fee of Rs. 190 per soil sample has to be paid to the State Government to conduct the tests. The fee includes the cost of collection of the soil sample, testing, generation, and also distribution of Soil Health Card to the farmer.
The Soil Health Card will have an advisory based on the soil nutrient status of the farmer’s holding, which will tell about the recommendations on the dosage of different nutrients required. After that, it will advise the farmer on how much fertilizer should apply and what soil amendments he should adopt. The Soil Health Card will be made available once every 3 years to the farmers and this will indicate the status of soil health of the land for that particular period.
The State Government collects soil samples are twice in a year, after harvesting of Kharif Crop and Rabi Crop or when there is no standing crop in the meadow. Then the samples are sent to different soil test laboratories in the state or country. A sum of Rs. 190/soil sample is given to State Governments, which covers the entire cost of collection of the soil sample, testing, generation, and distribution of Soil Health Card to the farmers.
Soil Health Card provides two sets of fertilizer and organic manure recommendations for 6 crops. Farmers can print the card of their own from the Soil Health Card portal. Soil Health Card portal has farmers database of both the cycles and is obtainable in 21 different languages for the benefit of the farmer community. In India, Punjab is the first state to issue a Soil Health Card.
The budget outlay for the Soil Health Card scheme is about 568 crore that has been allocated by the Government of India. Around 100 crores have been allocated for all States for setting up of Labs and for making SHC.
Norms of Sampling – Soil samples are taken from the grid of about 2.5 hectares in Irrigated land and 10 hectares in case of rain-fed land with the help of revenue maps and GPS tools.
The ideal time for Soil Sampling – Soil samples will be taken 2 times per year, after harvesting of Kharif crop and Rabi crops or when there is no crop in the field.
Soil sampling – The officers of the State Government collect soil samples or through an unauthorized agency. Students of various agricultural colleges involved in the collection of samples.
Soil Health Card day highlights the report of soil’s current health status and the soil health status report is prepared by the soil testing laboratory and issued a card which is called the Soil Health Card. Farmers get the health status recommendations through card and increase the fertility of their farm soil. Soil Health Card also helps farmers to increase crop production by using a balanced amount of fertilizers.
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Farmers realize the fertile strength, status, and capacity of their farm soil through SHC. This day highlights all these benefits to the farmers. It is very important to know the type of soil. Mostly, three kinds of soil land are found in India – Saline, Alkaline, and Acidic.
Generally, soil samples are collected by the trained personnel from a depth of 15 to 20cm by cutting the soil in ‘V’ shape. It is collected from the center of the field and 4 corners of the field. Those collected samples are mixed thoroughly and a part of the sample is used for sampling.
Soil test Laboratory for Soil Health Card – It is a laboratory for testing the soil sample for about 12 parameters. This laboratory can be static or mobile or it can be portably used in remote areas.
Distribution of Soil Health Card – From 2015 to 2017, about 10.74 crore Soil Health Cards have been distributed to farmers. From 2017 to 2019, 11.69 crore Soil Health Cards have been distributed to farmers across India.
The benefits of having a Soil Health Card are;
As per the grid pattern adopted by the Ministry, 253 lakh soil samples will be tested every 3 years to generate about 14 crore Soil Health Cards.
You can log in to the Chrome application with the same credentials used in the soil health portal that is http://soilhealth.dac.gov.in or mobile app. There are 4 main sections in the Soil Health Card sample registration form – Farmer details, Land details, Crop details, and Fertilizer details.
Soil Health Card scheme launched by the Government of India on 19 February 2015.
A sum of Rs. 190 per soil sample is provided to State Governments and covers the cost of collection of soil samples and distribution of soil health cards to the farmer.
The Soil Health Card will contain an advisory based on the soil nutrient status of a farmer’s holding. It will show recommendations on the dosage of different nutrients required. It will advise the farmer on the fertilizers and their quantities must apply, and the soil amendments that should undertake, so as to realize optimal crop yields.
The total outlay of the Soil Health Scheme is Rs. 568.54 crore for a period of 3 years. The Soil Health Scheme has been rolled out in the field during the current year i.e, 2015-16.
National Informatics Center (NIC) has developed a web portal (www.soilhealth.dac.gov.in) for the generation of uniform Soil Health Card, which has mainly four modules;
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