Farmers no longer use traditional things like cowdung and crop stalks to replenish soil; excessive use of chemical fertilisers, needed for green revolution crops, is adding to the trouble. Earthworms, necessary to turn over soil, cannot survive in the chemical muck that farmland is turning into.
Various government agencies recognise the problem, but seem to be stumped about what to do about it. Indeed, there's no silver bullet that will rejuvenate soil quality, but a series of measures taken together will help. First, to better the quality of soil, it is important to improve water management.
Excessive use of irrigation to grow, say, rice in Punjab or sugarcane in Maharashtra, not only depletes the water table, but washes away precious soil nutrients. Traditional methods of storing and handling water by harvesting rainwater, digging wells and building small check dams will help. Read the full report here.
Source: ET Bureau, Economic Times.
