Comments
The use of fertilisers for agriculture in India has risen in the last 60 years, resulting in deterioration of soil health in many parts of the country, particularly the intensively cultivated Indo-Gangetic plains, also known as the “Great Plains’’.
In 1951-52, fertiliser usage in the country averaged less than one kg per hectare, which has now risen to 133 kg per hectare, according to information given on the Department of Fertilisers website.
However, despite this increase, the consumption of fertilisers is still less in India than many developed countries.
According to World Bank data, the per hectare fertiliser consumption (kilogram per hectare of arable land) in India, China, Japan, Bangladesh, US, Pakistan and Israel in 2007 stood at 142.3 kg/ha, 331.1 kg/ha, 171.2 kg/ha, 166.2 kg/ha and Israel 524 kg/ha, respectively.
In view of the deterioration in soil health, the Government had in 2008-09 launched a new scheme, namely the National Project on Management of Soil Health and Fertility, to promote soil test-based balanced and judicious use of chemical fertilisers in conjunction with organic manure.
In addition, the National Project on Organic Farming was started in 2004-05 to promote the use of organic fertilisers.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.