Punjab becomes first state to issue Soil Health Cards to farmers

Punjab has become the first state in India to issue Soil Health Cards (SHCs), a Union Government initiative to all farmers in the state.
In this regard, every district of state has been assigned mobile soil testing lab. These labs will take soil sample from every farm and issue a digitalised soil health details.
Presently, state government has 66 such laboratories and has capability to test 3.5 lakh soil samples annually. State government also has made mandatory for these labs to check soil health on quarterly basis.
Importance of SHC in Punjab

• The advent of green revolution in Punjab has made soil testing more necessary in view of over exploitation of soil.
• It will help farmers in maintaining the balanced health structure of the soil and educate them to use right quantity of fertilisers in order to prevent soil from becoming arid.

About Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme

• The SHC contains all basic and crop-wise recommendations of fertilizers or nutrients required for farms of different soil types.
• It also provides crop-wise nutrient recommendation and other inputs in order to increase the productivity of farms.
• It will also lead in profiling of soil structure which will in turn help in diversification of crops as per the soil content of that area as well.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had formally launched the nationwide ‘Soil Health Card’ Scheme in Februrary 2015 in Suratgarh, Rajasthan.

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2015