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Written By: Agencies | Published : February 19, 2015 5:29 PM IST
February 19, 2015: Referring to the song Vande Mataram, Modi said that in order to achieve land that is truly Sujalam, Sufalam, (well- irrigated and fertile), it is necessary to nurture the soil and the soil health card scheme is a step towards fulfilling this dream. I can assure you if farmers go by the scientific analysis of soil, and use water and other inputs, they can save a minimum Rs 50,000, he added.
Stating that agriculture is the key to poverty eradication, Modi asked farmers to take up agriculture in three parts. Firstly, carry on with traditional farming which you have been doing, but use more scientific and modern techniques. Secondly, grow more trees on the boundaries of your farm fields, which otherwise are kept unused. Thirdly, take up poultry, fisheries, dairy and other allied activities to raise your income, he said.
Modi also emphasised on judicious use of water and urged farmers not to waste even a drop. The Prime Minister presented the Krishi Karman Awards to state government functionaries led by Chief Ministers of States and progressive farmers, to the states of Punjab, Odisha, Meghalaya, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Gujarat. He presented Commendation Awards to state government functionaries led by Agriculture Ministers of States to Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Karnataka.
Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh and Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, and Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh were present on the occasion. The Soil Health Card scheme assumes importance as the imbalanced application of fertilisers have caused deficiency of primary nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium), secondary nutrients (such as sulphur), and micro-nutrients (boron, zinc, copper etc.) in most parts of country. (Read: Improved crop models may help feed 9 billion people)
The Centre aims to give 3 crore cards to farmers in 2015, 5.50 crore cards next year and remaining 5.50 crore in 2017. A digital system will be put in place so that local agriculture science centres across the country can keep details of soil-test results. The country has a total cultivable land of 14.1 crore hectares and the government plans to take 2.48 lakh samples from all states and test the quality of soil in three years.
Source: PTI
Photo source: Getty images
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