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.