Let APMCs, fertiliser firms set up PPP soil labs: AgriMin to states

The ministry of agriculture has suggested states include their respective Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs) in setting up soil testing laboratories in public private partnership mode with fertiliser companies.

As per the recommendation of Nandkumar Committee report on optimisation of use of fertiliser, the ministry is suggesting a PPP mode for site-specific soil testing programme (SSSP) — a venture of the ministry to improve the yield of the land by using fertiliser under site-specific nutrient management (SSNM). SSSP aims at the testing the sample of the soil before advising use of a certain type of fertiliser.

Officials said the districts which consume about 50 per cent of NPK (nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium) will be the first to take up the SSNM project. This should be followed up by those districts that have major soil nutrient problems and large areas under crops or similar problems with soil degradation. Besides NPK, secondary and micronutrients and soil ameliorants, green farm yard manure and biofertilisers should also be an integral part of SSNM.

The Gujarat Government has already brought APMCS in its fold to set up soil testing laboratories and help the farmers. Similarly, the state of Haryana, to this effect, has set up 30 static soil testing laboratories and one mobile soil testing laboratory which is implemented through PPP mode.

The TamilNadu government has worked out an innovative scheme for establishing agri clinic cum mini soil testing laboratories, run by unemployed youth with bank loans and government subsidy. It has also tailor made special kits made of urea, farm compost and technical pamphlets which are distributed to farmers. The state in its plans submitted to the government proposes to distribute green manure seeds at 25 per cent subsidy. Around 250 metric tonnes of green manure is distributed every year. The state has set up vermin compost units and municipal compost units by subsidising 50 per cent of the cost.

The report has observed that fertiliser consumption is growing along with increasing negative nutrient balance between crop removal and fertiliser.

Use of green farm manure has decreased considerably due to inadequate availability, labour costs and higher prices while soil testing and preparation of soil maps continue to be slow. Fertigation — a combination of liquid fertiliser during irrigation, while very effective in increasing land productivity is at a very nascent stage due to heavy dependence on imports for liquid or soluble fertiliser which attracts high custom duty.