THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Agricultural officers allege that the soil health card being implemented by the central Government for farmers was a huge waste on the exchequer. The state agriculture department has given a target of collecting 500 soil samples every year from each panchayat which officers are doing as a ritual. But they allege that it is not helping farmers as the results are not shown to them and the officials were also not concerned about showing them the result.
It was during 2015 that the Narendra Modi Government came out with the policy to issue a soil health card to all the farmers across the country. It is meant to check the micro nutrients in the soil in every farmer’s land and would show the level of NPK – nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium - as well as secondary levels of iron, molybdenum, magnesium etc. An agricultural officer told DC that it was not the farmers who were benefiting out of receiving the soil health card, but a few degree holders in chemistry and agriculture who were roped in to the department to work as soil chemists across the State.
“I have been working in the agriculture department for close to three decades now. Unfortunately, I will not be able to show you any statistics on how many farmers have benefitted out of receiving the soil health card”, said an agriculture officer to DC. Ironically, agriculture minister V. S. Sunil Kumar too agreed that so far the farmers had not benefitted out of this scheme. He told DC that there were farmers who had stored their soil health card like their SSLC book in safe custody.
“So far, the soil survey and soil conservation directorate have examined 2.83 lakh soil samples across the State. This was actually meant to utilize central funds. But now, the State agriculture department has decided to have a 2.5 acre plot in every block panchayat during this fiscal year which will be a joint venture of the two departments”, said Sunil Kumar. However, J. Justin Mohan, director of soil survey and soil conservation told DC that he himself had setup a paddy plot at Kuttanad which showed 10 percent increase in production and yield and the farmers had to use less manure as well.
