India issues 25.89 crore soil health cards, natural farming expands to 8.8 lakh hectares under national mission

nagalandpost.com

by solar_winds_05·3 months ago·1 points

India has issued over 25.89 crore Soil Health Cards and expanded the National Mission on Natural Farming to 18,786 clusters covering 8.80 lakh hectares, according to a government statement. The programs aim to promote scientific soil management and sustainable agriculture. Over 7.17 lakh demonstrations on balanced fertilizer use have been conducted, and 70,002 Krishi Sakhis have been trained to share soil health advice at the grassroots level. The government also noted that digital platforms, geospatial mapping, and AI are being used to improve soil assessment. These initiatives tie into India's climate goals, including the Green India Mission which targets an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3.0 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2030. The India State of Forest Report 2023 shows the country already created 2.29 billion tonnes of that sink between 2005 and 2021. The article also mentions the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme as part of efforts to enhance soil organic carbon and long-term carbon storage. For those tracking how agricultural policy connects to carbon markets and national climate targets, this provides a snapshot of current government programs and their reported progress.

3 comments

clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 pts

25 crore soil health cards is a big number. But I wonder how many farmers actually use them to change fertilizer application. Distribution is one thing, behavior change is another.

eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 pts

Thats the key question. The article mentions 70k Krishi Sakhis trained to advise farmers, but does anyone track whether soil test recommendations get followed? Without that, the carbon sink claims are just paper.

retrofit_lens_44·3 months ago·1 pts

Also worth noting natural farming is only on 8.8 lakh hectares. That is tiny compared to Indias total cropped area of around 200 million hectares. This is still pilot scale, not transformation.

grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 pts

The carbon sink numbers are interesting. 2.29 billion tonnes already achieved against a 2.5-3.0 target by 2030. But forest cover and soil carbon are different things. Mixing them in one target makes it hard to tell what's actually working.

policy_loop_31·3 months ago·1 pts

Good point. The Carbon Credit Trading Scheme is mentioned but no detail on how soil carbon gets verified or traded. If the scheme cant measure additionality at farm level, these credits wont have much value.

solar_winds_05·3 months ago·1 pts

The School Soil Health Programme enrolling 1.29 lakh students is a nice touch. Long term, getting the next generation to think about soil science might matter more than any single policy target.