Reversing degradation of land

The government's approach towards fertilisers and soil health seems rather paradoxical

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the farmers in his recent Independence Day address to curtail or stop the use of fertilisers to keep soils healthy and save Mother Earth. This plea has significant implications for agriculture and, therefore, needs to be weighed cautiously. While the PM’s concern for deterioration of soil quality due to chemical pollution is well founded, the solution offered by him seems rather simplistic. Chemical fertilisers alone are not responsible for degradation of land and its fertility. Nor a reduction in their use alone would check this menace.  

Several chemical, physical and biological factors are vitiating the