Now, soil health cards under a Central scheme will be issued to 12 crore farmers instead of 14 crore as suggested earlier, with states revising the data based on 2011 census. According to Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh so far, soil health cards —unveiled in February 2015 — have been issued to nine crore farmers across the country, while 16 states like Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra have done 100 per cent.
Soil health card is issued after testing the nutrient level of the farm fields to help farmers to apply the right fertilisers/pesticides. “Two years before, we started the programme on soil health card. That time, we decided to give cards to 14 crore farmers. Now, the target will be 12 crore as states have revised the data based on 2011 census,” Singh said after reviewing the scheme with state agri-ministers.
Earlier, the government had estimated the total number of farmers to be 14 crore in the country. However, the states found that the number of farmers have reduced to 12 crore while taking the soil samples and going by the 2011 census.