Aadhaar cards have been included as one of the identity for farmers in the State to avail the benefits of Soil Health Cards Scheme (SHC), an official press release informed.
The Central Government had issued notification in this regard in February this year.
A total of 15 other documents have been approved for farmers in case if they do not have Aadhaar cards and want soil testing done.
These documents are Nomination filled for Aadhaar cards, application form filled for Aadhaar cards, Photo-Voter ID, PAN, Driving licence, passport, photo-Identification letter issued by any Gazetted officer or Tahsildar, photo-bank passbook, Photo-kisanbook, Ration cards, or any documents issued by central as well as the State government.
So far, 40 lakh SHCs have been distributed in the State so far in first phase while in the second phase, nearly 37.50 lakhs cards will be distributed after collecting soil samples. The card holders can use fertilizers and micro-nutrition elements as per the recommendation at every two years.
Soil Health Card, a revolutionary scheme, was initiated for farmers and it has made a huge difference to farming and farm produce. It has helped in increasing the productivity and reduced the cost of production, a press release on Union Agriculture Ministry informed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the scheme on February 19, 2015, in Suratgarh, Rajasthan. Soil Health Card provides information to farmers on nutrient status of their soil along with recommendations on appropriate dosage of nutrients for improving soil health and its fertility. This also gives farmers information about the nature of the soil. And post recommendations, the farmers use fertilizers and other chemicals accordingly.
This reduces cost and increases production. In the first two-year (2015-17) of the Soil Health Card scheme, 2.53 million samples were collected and so far 93 percent samples have been tested. About 14 crore Soil Health Cards are being created by the State Governments and till May 31 it has been distributed among 8 crore farmers. In the next three months, the rest of the farmers will receive their Soil Health Cards. So far, the country has yielded positive results from Soil Health Card.