Telangana: Farmers to be beneficiaries of state-issued soil health cards

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has decided to take up soil testing and issue soil health cards to farmers soon.

Soil samples will be collected in April and will be analysed by scientists and based on it health cards will be issued before commencement of the kharif season.

The Centre has released '93 lakh for the purpose.

Agriculture minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy informed the Assembly on Monday that the project will be taken up initially in one-third of the villages in each district this year and the rest of the villages would be covered during the next two years.

He said the National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Nagpur is conducting a soil profile study as a pilot project in three mandals of three districts, namely Gajwel in Medak, Thimmajipeta in Mahabubnagar and Indra-velli in Adilabad districts.

Reddy said the whole of TS would be covered under the project in four years.

The project plans to bring down production costs for farmers and to increase the productivity of crops.

The soil health card given to the farmers will contain crop wise recommendations for fertiliser and nutrients.