2. As Indian farmers shift to complex fertilizers, FY25 sales up 11% till October

India’s Fertilizer Production and Imports

• India’s farmers are increasingly using complex fertilizers due to a shortage of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP).
• The demand for complex fertilizers, which includes nitrogen, phosphorous, and potash nutrients, has increased due to rising awareness and the introduction of soil health cards.
• A study by ICAR in 2023 also revealed that up to 90% of agricultural land is deficient in nitrogen and phosphorus, and 50% is deficient in potash.
• The Fertilizer Ministry reported a 2% rise in the production of all key fertilizers in April-October period from 297.8 lt a year ago.

Soil Health Card Scheme in India: A Key to Productivity

• The Soil Health Card scheme has helped many farmers to understand soil health parameters and improve productivity through judicious application of soil nutrients.
• The scheme has been implemented in two phases: Phase-I (2015-17) and Phase-II (2017-19).
• The scheme promotes farm holding-based soil sample collection and testing with farmers’ participation.
• The scheme has created jobs for agrarian youth and farmers up to 40 years of age.
• The Soil Health Card (SHC) is a printed report containing nutrient status of soil for 12 nutrients.

Soil Health Cards Scheme in India

• The scheme has been implemented in two phases: Phase-I (2015-17) and Phase-II (2017-19).
• The scheme promotes farm holding-based soil sample collection and testing with farmers’ participation.
• The scheme is implemented by the Department of Agriculture of all the State and Union Territory Governments. 
• Was introduced in 2014-15, the Soil Health Cards (SHCs) Scheme aimed to assist State Governments in issuing soil health cards to farmers.
• The scheme provides information on soil nutrient status and nutrient dosage recommendations for improving soil health and fertility.
• The Government of India has upgraded the Soil Health Card Scheme, integrating it with a Geographic Information System (GIS) system for easy access to test results.
• The mobile application has some additional features like restricting sample collection regions, auto-selection of location latitude and longitude, and QR code generation.
• The new system has been rolled out since April 2023, with 56 training sessions arranged for states.
• The scheme has been merged into the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) scheme under the new name ‘Soil Health & Fertility‘ from 2022-23.
• 75% of laboratory costs are proposed to be funded by the Central and State Governments.
• The Guideline of Village Level Soil Testing Labs (VLSTLs) was issued on 22.06.2023, allowing for the establishment of VLSTLs by individual entrepreneurs and community-based organizations.
• VLSTLs also facilitates to educate farmers about fertilizer and crop recommendations.
• Detail Soil Mapping at 1:10000 scale is conducted using high-resolution satellite data and field survey/ground data.