World Soil Day (WSD) 2022, is celebrated annually on 5th December
WSD 2022, with its guiding theme, ‘Soils: Where food begins’, is a means to raise awareness on the importance of maintaining healthy soils, ecosystems by addressing the growing challenges in soil management.
- About Soil Degradation: It is the decline in soil quality caused by its improper use, usually for agricultural, pastoral, industrial or urban purposes. It encompasses physical (soil erosion), chemical (salinity and alkalinity, pollution) and biological deterioration (pollution and deterioration of vegetal cover).
- The main drivers of Soil Degradation: (i) Deforestation due to mining, plantation boom, shifting cultivation, development projects. (ii) Overgrazing loses the structure of the soil and the soil is easily washed away by rains. The soil is pulverised (reduced to fine particles) by the hoofs of animals and thus proves detrimental to topsoil when heavy showers fall on it. (iii) Unscientific farming methods- Wrong ploughing, lack of crop rotation, burning of crop residues.
- The impacts of Soil Degradation: (i) Barren Lands- Soil degradation affects around 29% of India’s total land area. This in turn threatens agricultural productivity, in-situ biodiversity conservation, water quality and the socio-economic wellbeing of land dependent communities. (ii) Nutrient Loss- Nearly 3.7 million hectares suffer from nutrient loss in soil (depletion of soil organic matter, or SOM). (iii) Food Security- Excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides, and irrigation with contaminated wastewater threatens food security. (iv) Climate Change- It is exacerbating climate change events, which in turn, are causing even greater degradation. For example, degraded land loses its capacity to absorb carbon-dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas (GHG) that is the biggest factor in worsening global warming.
- India’s Conservation Strategy: (i) Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana - To prevent soil erosion, regeneration of natural vegetation, rainwater harvesting and recharging of the groundwater table. (ii )Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme - The SHC is used to assess the current status of soil health, to determine changes in soil health. The SHC displays soil health indicators which guide farmers to make necessary soil amendments. (iii) United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) - India became a signatory to the UNCCD in 1994 and ratified in 1996. India is working to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 and to achieve its national commitment on Land Degradation Neutrality LDN (Sustainable Development Goal target 15.3). (iv) Partnership with FAO: a) The Food and Agriculture Organization is collaborating with the National Rainfed Area Authority and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoA&FW) to develop forecasting tools using data analytics that will aid vulnerable farmers in making informed decisions on crop choices, particularly in rainfed areas. b). FAO is partnering with the state governments and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to support farmers in sustainable transitions to agro-ecological approaches and organic farming. (v) National Mission on Green India- It was approved in 2014 with the objective of protecting, restoring and enhancing India’s diminishing forest cover with a deadline of 10 years.
Way Forward: (i) Check Overgrazing by demarcating separate grazing grounds. (ii) Crop Rotation- Different crops have to be grown, as different crops take up different nutrients throughout the
year. (iii) No-till farming- No-till farming by planting seeds into the residue of the previous crop, with no tillage between
harvests. (iv) Salinity Management Practices like use of humic acids may prevent excess salivation, especially given
excessive irrigation,