Implementing SHM on mission mode to manage natural resources, says Rio

Dimapur, Dec. 4 (EMN): Asserting that sustainability of agricultural productivity depends on the quality and availability of natural resources, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Friday said that the state government, in order to conserve and manage these resources, is implementing Soil Health Management (SHM) scheme across the state on mission mode.

In a message issued on the eve of ‘World Soil Day’, which falls on December 5, the chief minister said that SHM is aimed at promoting location-based crop specific sustainable soil health management; creating and linking soil fertility maps with macro- micro nutrient management; judicious and effective application of bio-fertilisers and manure as an organic farming practices.

According to Rio, the soil health card (SHC) scheme is implemented with the following objectives: to issue soil health cards to the farmers, so as to analyse and provide them with the status of their soil nutrient content; to diagnose soil nutrient or fertility-related constraints with standardised procedures for sampling uniformly across the states and analysis and design taluqa/block level fertilser recommendations in targeted districts; to develop and promote soil test based nutrient management in the districts for enhancing nutrient use efficiency; and to build capacities of district and state-level staff and of progressive farmers/krishisakis for promotion of nutrient management practices through training and demonstration.

It also ensures quality control requirements of fertilisers, bio-fertilisers and organic fertilisers by setting up quality control laboratories; promotion of integrated nutrient management through judicious use of fertilisers, including secondary and micro nutrients, in conjunction with organic manures and bio-fertilisers, for improving soil health and its productivity for posterity, he added.

Rio said that SHC is meant to give information to farmers about the soil nutrient status of his/her holding and advice on the dosage of fertiliser and the needed soil amendments.

“As the animals require food in the form of carbohydrate, protein, fat, minerals and vitamins, the plants also need certain nutrients for their growth and survival. Soil Health Card also indicates/ provides fertiliser recommendation and soil amendment on organic manures required for their farm. GPS enabled soil-sampling survey for maintaining systematic database bank that will facilitate better monitoring and evaluating the status of the soil health across the state over the years,” it stated.

The chief minister informed that his government would be implementing SHM and SHC during 2020-21.

“The proposal includes establishment of STLs in all the districts and mini-labs in the blocks level, distribution and promotion of micronutrients, farmers training, demonstration and soil sample analysis to provide soil health cards to the farmers in the state. Also to meet the requirement of the bio-fertilisers in the state, bio-fertiliser production units will be set up on phase-wise manner in the districts from 2021 to 2026,” the message read.