Soil Health Card Scheme, Modi Govt. flagship program for determining the health of soil and give proper suggestions to improve its health for productivity increase announced last year is back in news. Department of Agriculture and Cooperation under Union Ministry of Agriculture has launched three web portals last week for Soil Health Card, Participatory Guarantee System and Fertilizer Quality Control System. This web based interference further demonstrates the Govt.’s strong will to digitalize the governance for ease and transparency of operation. But before this one needs to know what are the schemes for which above mentioned portals are launched.
SO WHAT IS SOIL HEALTH CARD?
1) Soil Health Card is the scheme launched by PM this Feb to boost productivity and bring about increased prosperity to the farmers.
2) Under this 14 crore Soil Health Cards are to be issued over the next 3 years.
3) The card is a printed report that will be given to farmers once every three years for the land he/she holds.
4) The crucial information on the micro, macro, secondary nutrients along with physical parameters of the soil will be mentioned.
5) Based on the above data the card will contain the advice on corrective measures the farmer can take to increase the yield.
7) One of the major reasons of developing portal is the ambition of developing a national database on soil health for future use of research, planning and implementation.
8) The samples are collected post rabi and khaif season when there is no standing crop in the field and are sent to the labs.
9) These labs can be state owned or private ( locally established but regulated by Govt.) and driven by standard norms.
10) After this the data is uploaded on the website and the soft as well as hard copy containing suggestions on the type of fertilizers to be used for major and micro nutrient needs of soil are handed over to the land owners.
11) So In a nutshell it’s a great opportunity for farmers at individual level, nation for better planning and execution of agricultural policies and for entrepreneurs as they can develop labs locally.
12) Whole cost of the scheme is borne by the Centre and a budget of Rs.569.54 crore is allotted for the period of three years.
OTHER THAN THIS TWO MORE SCHEME’S PORTALS HAVE BEEN LAUNCHED WHICH ARE AS BELOW:
1) Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) : It is a system of certification and quality assurance based on international standards for organic products which must be followed in order to satisfy eligibility for export of them. It emphasizes the participation of stakeholders, including producers and consumers and operate outside the frame of third party certification. Networking the groups under common umbrella is done through various facilitating agencies, Regional Councils and Zonal Councils. National Centre shall be the custodian of data, define policies and guidelines while Regional councils and facilitating agencies will work in capacity building, training and data uploading on the PGS website.
2) Fertilizer Quality Control System (FQCS): After use of fertilizers for decades now the side effects of using them have started to come in public knowledge .Taking a step in the direction to check the quality of fertilizers delivered to farmers and their impact on the environment the Govt. has launched Fertilizer Quality Control System. Under Quality control and Assurance of fertilizer, test samples are drawn by the fertilizer inspector from any point in the supply chain (Manufacturer, Wholesaler and Retailer) and sent for testing. They are then sent to laboratories. After analysis, the reports are sent to Director of Agriculture to take necessary action. There have been incidences of cancer and genetic disorder in the areas where farmers have been extensively and excessively using fertilizers like in Punjab and Haryana. Hence in current time its utmost important to regulate the use and its impact for minimum loss and maximum yield.
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