Soil conservation for food security

Soil conservation for food security

Subject :Geography

Section :Geomorphology

• Modernisation of agriculture has brought huge dividends in terms of ensuring food security by improving crop production while at the same time causing soil degradation.
• Extensive use of fertilisers and pesticides led to the deterioration of soil health and contamination of water bodies and the food chain, which pose serious health risks to people and livestock.
• Soil degradation on an unprecedented scale is a significant challenge to sustainable food production.

Statistics

• About one-third of the earth’s soils is already degraded and alarmingly, about 90 per cent could be degraded by 2050 if no corrective action is taken.
• While soil degradation is believed to be occurring in 145 million hectares in India, it is estimated that 96.40 million hectares — about 30 per cent of the total geographical area — is affected by land degradation.
• Globally, the biophysical status of 5,670 million hectares of land is declining, of which 1,660 million hectares (29 per cent) is attributed to human-induced land degradation, according to FAO’s State of Land, Soil and Water’ report. report
• The global annual production of industrial chemicals has doubled since the beginning of the 21st century, to approximately 2.3 billion tonnes, and is projected to increase by 85 per cent by the end of the decade.
• Another challenge comes from salinisation, which affects 160 million hectares of cropland worldwide.

History of Soil Conservation in India

• The earliest initiatives on soil conservation recorded in India date back to pre-colonial times, when soil and moisture conservation programmes were initiated in the 1920s by the British Administration.
• Post-independence, India’s First Five Year Plan (1951) included soil conservation measures to combat soil erosion and degradation and improve the livelihoods of rural population.
• The 1990s saw an overhaul of the previous soil conservation initiatives as the government launched the National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA).
• The project focussed on the construction of contour bunds, trenching, sowing, silvi-pasture development, and afforestation across India.
• By 2013 was launched the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) which works alongside the MGNREGA.
• “National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture(NMSA) will be implemented during 12th Plan with the objectives to make agriculture more productive, sustainable and climate resilient; to conserve natural resources; to adopt comprehensive soil health management practices; to optimize utilization of water resources; etc.
• “Soil Health Management (SHM) is one of the most important interventions under NMSA.SHM aims at promoting Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) through judicious use of chemical fertilisers including secondary and micro nutrients in conjunction with organic manures and bio-fertilisers for improving soil health and its productivity; strengthening of soil and fertiliser testing facilities to provide soil test based recommendations to farmers for improving soil fertility; ensuring quality control requirements of fertilisers, bio-fertilisers and organic fertilisers under Fertiliser Control Order, 1985; upgradation of skill and knowledge of soil testing laboratory staff, extension staff and farmers through training and demonstrations; promoting organic farming practices etc.

Present steps to conserve Soil

• The need of the hour is to adopt innovative policies and agro-ecological practices that create healthy and sustainable food production systems.
• Sikkim, a small northeast Indian state has succeeded in phasing out chemical pesticides and fertilisers gradually but resolutely and has converted the entire state to organic agriculture.
• Natural farming and organic farming are not only cost-effective but also lead to improvement in soil health and the farmland ecosystem.
• The Indian government introduced the soil health card scheme.
  • Under the programme as of date, soil health cards have been distributed to about 23 crore farmers.
  • The scheme has not only helped in improving the health of the soil, but has also benefited innumerable farmers by increasing crop production and their incomes.
  • There has been a decrease in the use of chemical fertilisers in the range of 8-10 percent as a result of the application of fertilisers and micro-nutrients as per the recommendations on the soil health cards.
• As a result, India is well on course to achieving the restoration of 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.
• There is a need for collective global action involving governments and civil society to reverse this alarming trend.
  • Campaigns like “save soil campaign” by Sadhguru is the right step in this direction.