For a fertile earth. World Soil Day: How soil can bolster food security 

Soil is the soul of infinite life; not only for the inhabiting plants and tiny animals but all the living beings on earth.

India’s diverse climate, abundance of sunlight, and vast stretch of fertile land make it one of the best places to grow food. But the role of soil in ensuring the food and nutritional security of our nation is often ignored.

This makes celebrating World Soil Day so critical for our existence. 

Save our soils

World over, agricultural practices stand threatened by the vagaries of extreme weather events, due to climate change. India has witnessed significant degradation of arable land, plagued by multi-nutrient deficiency and declining response to the agri-input applications in the post-green revolution era.

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Saving our soils is saving ourselves

Growing demand for quality foods from the ever-aspiring population leaves us with no choice than prioritising the health of this scarce natural resource.

Sanjiv Lal, MD and CEO, Rallis India

ICAR estimates 104.2 million hectares to be under degradation, out of 141 million hectares of our total cultivable land. Erosion is the single largest cause affecting 86.8 million hectares, leading to annual soil loss of 5.3 billion tonnes. The remaining 10.7 and 6.7 billion hectares are affected by salt and acidity, respectively.

As the National Soil Health Card dashboard suggests, nearly 82 per cent of soils are deficient in organic carbon and nitrogen, while about 60 per cent of soils are not having enough phosphorus and potassium to support a sustainable increase in agriculture. Worldwide the scenario is not different.

The FAO predicts soil depletion can result in the erosion of crop yields by 50 per cent, affecting 3.2 billion people. The bad news is the extent of soil degradation is accelerating with time. However, the good news remains that there is enough scientific evidence to suggest remedial measures as well.   

The way ahead 

Arresting soil physical loss, improving organic carbon content, reversing soil nutrient mining, restoring degraded lands, and ensuring a scientifically designed National Soil Policy should form the core of the strategy for ameliorating soil health.

Concerted efforts from corporates, policymakers, the national agricultural research system, and the farmers on the ground are what we should be aiming at. Emphasising the adoption of soil test-based balanced and integrated nutrient management is paramount to soil health.

Scientifically enriched organic fertilisers, mycorrhiza and other nutrient mobilising biofertilisers, state-of-the-art bio-stimulants, innovative micronutrient and water soluble fertiliser formulations — all should receive due importance in the prescription, besides the traditional bulk fertilisers. 

Promoting resource conservation technologies like zero tillage and crop residue incorporation, incentivising farmers for growing cover crops, promoting micro-irrigation, and encouraging innovation in crop nutrition products should be prioritised.

Bringing back the highly degraded land through agroforestry, soil amendment, and watershed management practices has a crucial role to play. However, no matter what programme we undertake, a village-level participatory approach would always remain a critical success factor. This underscores the role of extension machinery of the government like KVKs.   

(The author is MD and CEO, Rallis India)

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