{"id":109098,"date":"2026-06-20T17:11:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T11:41:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=109098"},"modified":"2026-06-20T17:11:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T11:41:59","slug":"declining-soil-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/declining-soil-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Declining Soil Health, A Silent Threat to India\u2019s Food Security"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India produced a record 354 million tonnes of foodgrains in 2024-25, an increase of more than 100 million tonnes over the last decade. However, higher agricultural production has not translated into better nutritional outcomes. According to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2025 Report, <\/span><b>18.7% of Indian children below five years suffer from wasting, while more than half of women aged 15\u201349 years are anaemic<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This paradox highlights a deeper concern &#8211; Declining Soil Health in India, a silent threat to India\u2019s food security.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>State of Soil Health in India<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has achieved record foodgrain production of 354 million tonnes in 2024-25, but the condition of its soils is becoming a matter of concern.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Nutritional Deficiency<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: According to Soil Health Card data (2025-26) based on more than 93 lakh soil samples, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nearly 73% of soils are deficient in nitrogen, while many soils also lack important micronutrients such as zinc and iron.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Declining Soil Organic Carbon<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The level of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Soil Organic Carbon (SOC)<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which supports microbial activity, helps plants absorb nutrients, improves soil structure, enhances water retention, and sustains long-term fertility, has declined in many agricultural regions.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, in several parts of <\/span><b>Punjab and Haryana<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, SOC levels have fallen to <\/span><b>0.2-0.4%<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, reflecting severe degradation of soil quality.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Reasons of Declining Soil Health<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s soil health has deteriorated gradually due to farming practices that prioritised higher production but paid insufficient attention to restoring the nutrients and organic matter removed from the soil.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Rice-Wheat Centric Agricultural Model<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Post- <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/green-revolution-in-india\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Green Revolution<\/strong><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> procurement and policy support became heavily concentrated around rice and wheat, gradually reducing the cultivation of pulses, millets, and oilseeds that help maintain soil balance.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Intensive Mono-Cropping<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Continuous cultivation of the same crops year after year places constant pressure on soil nutrients without providing adequate time or mechanisms for natural replenishment.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Excessive Dependence on Nitrogen-Based Fertilisers<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Fertiliser use increasingly became skewed towards nitrogen, leading to nutrient imbalances and neglect of other essential macro and micronutrients.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Inadequate Organic Replenishment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Crop residues, compost, farmyard manure, and other organic inputs have not been added back to the soil in sufficient quantities to compensate for nutrient extraction contributing to declining Soil Organic Carbon (SOC)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Weakening of Soil Biological Systems<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Continuous nutrient extraction and declining organic matter have gradually damaged the biological processes through which soils naturally absorb, recycle, and retain nutrients.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Policy Bias Towards Productivity Rather than Soil Health<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Agricultural policies have largely focused on maximising yields, while soil restoration and balanced nutrient management received relatively less attention.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Growing Dependence on Chemical Inputs<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: As soil fertility declined, farmers increasingly relied on chemical fertilisers to sustain yields, creating a cycle of further soil degradation over time.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These factors have collectively weakened the soil\u2019s natural ability to sustain productivity, making soil degradation a long-term challenge for India\u2019s agricultural sustainability.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Implications of Declining Soil Health\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The implications of declining soil health extend far beyond agriculture.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First, it <\/span><b>threatens long-term food security<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Soil degradation gradually reduces the productive capacity of agricultural land, making future yield growth more difficult.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Second, it <\/span><b>affects nutritional security<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Deficiencies in micronutrients such as zinc and iron in soils can eventually influence the nutritional quality of crops.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Third, soil health is closely linked to <\/span><b>water security<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Research shows that a <\/span><b>1% increase in Soil Organic Carbon can improve an acre\u2019s water-holding capacity by up to 25,000 gallons<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. For a country where a large share of agriculture remains rain-fed, this is critically important.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fourth, <\/span><b>soil degradation increases climate vulnerability<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. A 2025 study published in Soil and Tillage Research found that <\/span><b>higher SOC levels can reduce warming-induced yield losses, particularly in dryland regions.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, declining soil quality pushes farmers towards <\/span><b>greater dependence on chemical inputs<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to maintain productivity, increasing cultivation costs and environmental pressures.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Andhra Pradesh\u2019s Community Managed Natural Farming (CMNF) Programme<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Andhra Pradesh\u2019s Community Managed Natural Farming (CMNF) programme provides an important example of how soil health can be restored while maintaining agricultural productivity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Launched in 2016, the programme had expanded to nearly 17.74 lakh farmers, covering 9.26 lakh hectares across 4,116 Gram Panchayats by 2025-26.<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The initiative <\/span><b>focuses on rebuilding soil health by restoring organic matter, reducing dependence on chemical fertilisers and pesticides, and encouraging diversified cropping systems<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By improving soil moisture retention and biological activity, it seeks to strengthen the natural processes that sustain long-term soil fertility.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Early research suggests that natural farming plots can achieve yields comparable to conventional farming while lowering input costs and improving farm incomes. More importantly, the programme helps restore the ecological resilience of agricultural systems, making them better equipped to withstand climate stress, water scarcity, and soil degradation.<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><b>Way Forward<\/b><\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Promote Balanced Nutrient Management<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Shift from excessive nitrogen use towards balanced application of macro and micronutrients based on <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/soil-health-card-scheme\/\" target=\"_blank\">Soil Health Card<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> recommendations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Increase Soil Organic Carbon (SOC)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Encourage the use of compost, farmyard manure, green manuring, crop residues, and bio-inputs to improve soil fertility and moisture retention.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Diversify Cropping Systems<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Promote pulses, millets, oilseeds, and crop rotation to reduce pressure on soils caused by intensive rice-wheat cultivation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Scale Up Natural Farming Models<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Replicate successful initiatives such as Andhra Pradesh\u2019s Community Managed Natural Farming programme in other states.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Strengthen Soil Health Card Programme<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Improve soil testing infrastructure and ensure timely, location-specific advisories to farmers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Reorient Agricultural Subsidies<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Align fertiliser and procurement policies with sustainable farming practices rather than production-centric incentives alone.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Promote Climate-Resilient Agriculture<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Integrate soil conservation with climate adaptation strategies to enhance resilience against droughts, heat stress, and erratic rainfall.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Enhance Farmer Awareness and Extension Services<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Strengthen capacity-building programmes on sustainable soil management and integrated nutrient management practices.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Encourage Conservation Agriculture<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Promote minimum tillage, residue retention, and cover cropping to reduce soil degradation and improve soil structure.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Support Research and Innovation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Invest in research on soil restoration, bio-fertilisers, regenerative agriculture, and region-specific sustainable farming practices.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Declining Soil Health in India threatens food security, crop productivity, and nutrition. Read about its causes, impacts, challenges, and sustainable solutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":109083,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[786],"tags":[8234],"class_list":{"0":"post-109098","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general-studies","8":"tag-declining-soil-health","9":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109098"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109098\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109118,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109098\/revisions\/109118"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}