New Delhi: DMK MP Senthilkumar had questioned in the Lok Sabha how India’s most important scheme, the Soil Health Scheme, is working in Tamil Nadu. To this, Union Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Welfare Narender Singh Tomar has given an explanation.
Regarding this, Senthil Kumar, the MP of Dharmapuri parliamentary constituency, raised a question in the Lok Sabha today, “How is India’s most important soil health program working in Tamil Nadu?” If this is being implemented how many farmers in Tamil Nadu have been issued cards for the Soil Health Scheme? Has the Central Government achieved the objective of implementing the Soil Health Scheme in particular? What are the challenges faced by the central government in starting this scheme and more importantly has it set up the required soil testing stations in India for the farmers? Are the farmers getting the benefits?” He had asked.
Responding to that, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendersingh Tomar said: “Soil health card scheme in India, including Tamil Nadu, is operational from February 19, 2015. For this scheme, farmers have received 148.09 lakh soil cards till 2022. To encourage farmers in the States and Union Territories, soil health cards for their farmlands are being implemented well.
This scheme is effective in reducing the consumption of chemical fertilizers and increasing the consumption of natural fertilizers. This scheme helps the livelihood of the farmers by increasing the income of the farmers without reducing the fertility of the soil. The soil health card is being distributed to the farmers spread across the country as the farmers benefit a lot from this scheme.
Specifically, 6.45 demonstration meetings, 93,781 farmers have been given unique training through this scheme. Also, 7,425 farmers have benefited under the scheme. Nowadays, due to the increasing use of mobile phones, testing of soil samples is being done through the QR line. “Similarly, countless services are being provided to the farmers in the country through the soil health card,” said the minister.
Along with this, the number of soil testing stations across the country was also submitted state-wise to the Lok Sabha. These are set for the years 2013-14 to 2022-23. According to this table, Telangana has the highest number of soil testing stations at 2,764 among all the states in the country. Its number is 20 in Tamil Nadu and 10 in Puducherry. There is not a single small scale soil testing station in Tamil Nadu. The total number of soil testing stations at the national level is 11,840.
