Soil management & food security

In News

  • Recently, ‘World Soil Day’ was celebrated to raise awareness about the importance of healthy soils and soil fertility.

More about the news

  • About:
    • World Soil Day (WSD) is celebrated annually on December 5th. 
    • WSD 2022 had a guiding theme, ‘Soils: Where food begins’.
  • Significance of the day:
    • It is a means to raise awareness on the importance of maintaining healthy soils, ecosystems and human well-being by addressing the growing challenges in soil management, encouraging societies to improve soil health, and advocating the sustainable management of soil.

Significance of healthy soil:

  • Nutrition & Survival: 
    • Healthy soils are essential for our survival. They support healthy plant growth to enhance both our nutrition and water percolation to maintain groundwater levels. 
  • Regulating climate:
    • Soils help to regulate the planet’s climate by storing carbon and are the second largest carbon sink after the oceans. 
    • They help maintain a landscape that is more resilient to the impacts of droughts and floods. 
  • Food production:
    • As soil is the basis of food systems, it is no surprise that soil health is critical for healthy food production.

Degradation and its consequences

  • Soil nutrient loss:
    • Today, nutrient loss and pollution significantly threaten soils, and thereby undermine nutrition and food security globally. 
    • The reasons behind soil nutrient loss range from soil erosion, runoff, leaching and the burning of crop residues.
  • Soil degradation:
    • The main drivers contributing to soil degradation are industrial activities, mining, waste treatment, agriculture, fossil fuel extraction and processing and transport emissions. 
    • Further, excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides, and irrigation with contaminated wastewater are also polluting soils. 
  • Consequences:
    • Soil degradation in some form or another affects around 29% of India’s total land area.
    • This in turn threatens agricultural productivity, in-situ biodiversity conservation, water quality and the socio-economic well-being of land dependent communities.
    • Nearly 3.7 million hectares suffer from nutrient loss in soil (depletion of soil organic matter, or SOM). 
    • Impacts of soil degradation are far-reaching and can have irreparable consequences on human and ecosystem health.

India’s conservation initiatives

  • The Government of India is implementing a five-pronged strategy for soil conservation. This includes 
    • Making soil chemical-free, 
    • Saving soil biodiversity, 
    • Enhancing & Maintaining soil moisture, 
    • Mitigating soil degradation and 
    • Preventing soil erosion. 
  • Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme:
    • Need:
      • Earlier, farmers lacked information relating to soil type, soil deficiency and soil moisture content. 
    • About:
      • To address these issues, the Government of India launched the Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme in 2015. 
      • The SHC is used to assess the current status of soil health, and when used over time, to determine changes in soil health. 
    • Significance:
      • The SHC displays soil health indicators and associated descriptive terms, which guide farmers to make necessary soil amendments.
  • Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana:
    • Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana aims to 
      • prevent soil erosion, 
      • regeneration of natural vegetation, 
      • rainwater harvesting and 
      • recharging of the groundwater table.
  • National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA):
    • The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) has schemes promoting traditional indigenous practices such as organic farming and natural farming, thereby reducing dependency on chemicals and other agri-inputs, and decreasing the monetary burden on smallholder farmers.
  • Initiatives by FAO:
    • The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) undertakes multiple activities to support the Government of India’s efforts in soil conservation towards fostering sustainable agrifood systems. 
    • Rainfed areas:
      • The FAO is collaborating with the National Rainfed Area Authority and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoA&FW) to develop forecasting tools using data analytics that will aid vulnerable farmers in making informed decisions on crop choices, particularly in rainfed areas.
    • Supporting Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission’s (DAY-NRLM):
      • The FAO, in association with the Ministry of Rural Development, supports the Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission’s (DAY-NRLM) Community Resource Persons to increase their capacities towards supporting on-farm livelihoods for the adoption of sustainable and resilient practices, organic certification and agri-nutri-gardens.

Way ahead:

  • Strengthening communication channels:
    • There is a need to strengthen communication channels between academia, policymakers and society for the identification, management and restoration of degraded soils, as well as in the adoption of anticipatory measures. 
    • These will facilitate the dissemination of timely and evidence-based information to all relevant stakeholders. 
  • Greater cooperation and partnerships:
    • Greater cooperation and partnerships are central to ensure the availability of knowledge, sharing of successful practices, and universal access to clean and sustainable technologies, leaving no one behind. 
  • Individual efforts:
    • As consumers and citizens, we can contribute by planting trees to protect topsoil, developing and maintaining home/kitchen gardens, and consuming foods that are mainly locally sourced and seasonal.
 
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