When started

Launched in 2015 by Department of Agriculture & Co-operation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare

Highlights of the scheme

• A step-by-step process for leading farmers in identifying soil health indicators and developing a Soil Health Card.
• The outcomes of facilitated farmer meetings include a user-friendly, do-it-yourself tool to assess soil health as well as mutually beneficial dialog among farmers and technical specialists.
• In the form of soil card, the farmers will get a report. and this report will contain all the details about the soil of their particular farm.
• The government is planning to cover as many as all farmers under the scheme.
• The scheme will cover all the parts of the country.
• A farm will get the soil card once in every 3 years.

What is a Soil Health Card?

• SHC is a printed report that a farmer will be handed over for each of his holdings.
• It will contain the status of his soil with respect to 12 parameters, namely N,P,K (Macro-nutrients); S (Secondary- nutrient); Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, Bo (Micro - nutrients); and pH, EC, OC (Physical parameters).
• Based on this, the SHC will also indicate fertilizer recommendations and soil amendment required for the farm.

How can a farmer use a SHC?

• The card will contain an advisory based on the soil nutrient status of a farmer's holding.
• It will show recommendations on dosage of different nutrients needed.
• Further, it will advise the farmer on the fertilizers and their quantities he should apply, and also the soil amendments that he should undertake, so as to realize optimal yields.