Regular effective action needed for maintenance of soil health

We all know that health is wealth, be it the health of flora or fauna.
Regular effective action needed for maintenance of soil health

Hemchandra Saikia

(saikia.hemchandra@rediffmail.com)

We all know that health is wealth, be it the health of flora or fauna. Hence, it is applicable in the case of soil or land from where we derive food, shelter and, indirectly, cloth.

Because only healthy resources can produce sufficient or optimum output and only healthy soil is capable of supplying sufficient food to mankind across the world, this supply needs continuity year after year. And if this is to happen, of course, must happen, then the very health of our base of food supply - that is soil - should bear a very sound and support good health with a minimum amount of degradation of soil health. Otherwise, production and productivity from cultivated soil or land will be decreasing year after year due to the ill effects of various types of soil degradation imposed by injudicious and inhuman activities of mankind in their quest for satisfying unlimited wants in the name of development. So, the most crucial issue of soil health is deeply related to the issue of food security of mankind, conservation of biodiversity and ecological imbalance and environmental pollution across the world.

Why the issue of soil health is so essential for its right maintenance? The answer is very simple: Food is the daily basic need of human beings or for all living beings and this food should be secured with due quantity, quality, accessibility, and affordability on an everyday basis where the sustainability issue of our environment cannot be compromised at any cost at any time. Now if we allow continuous degradation of soil or land (knowingly or unknowingly) where we cultivate crops for our food security, then it is not possible to produce a sufficient quantum of foodstuff to feed the burgeoning population across the world. So human beings must be able to ensure effective maintenance of sustainable good health of soil forever through controlled and judicious physical and economic activities. The importance of soil in human life is enormous, crucial and critical. Various findings by researchers of national and international repute also very well justify the importance of keeping soil in very sound condition continuously. For example, according to FAO, 95% of our food comes from the soil and out of the 18 naturally occurring chemical elements essential to plants, 15 elements are supplied by the soil. Moreover, to meet the global demand for food by 2050, agricultural production will have to be increased by 60% and it is reported that through sustainable soil management up to 58% more food could be produced.

Now to maintain the condition of soil health in a very good sustainable mode, immediate and very urgent regular action will be required to stop or minimize the process of soil degradation of varied types caused by various man-made factors. These various types of soil degradation that are harming our very soil health, affecting its fertility, physical condition, soil micro-organisms, soil biodiversity etc., have either resulted or going to result in very low productivity of soil or converting huge tracts of land unfit for crop production. Factors like erosion of soil due to flood or human activities, heavy and improper irrigation resulting in either siltation, deposition of unwanted matters or layer over surface soil, acidification, soil salinization and alkalization, improper and injudicious use of chemicals and fertilizers, imbalanced use of fertilizers, destruction of forest or deforestation, destruction of soil biodiversity, soil micro-organism, the unsustainable establishment of various types of industrial units etc., are some of the distinct examples accentuating the subject of soil degradation more prominent. Now is a high and crucial time to act very effectively and promptly continuously either to stop soil degradation totally or minimize soil degradation to its minimum possible level and maintain or rejuvenate sound soil health capable of ensuring the right food security for mankind. And to convert this into reality, the most crucial thing is that people at all levels across the world should always understand and realize the importance of maintaining good soil health by stopping activities which cause soil degradation. We must act promptly with a strong determination to keep our soil health in a very sound and sustainable condition. In this case, mass and effective regular awareness and sensitization among our people at all levels across the world have the potential to bring about a very desirable and sustainable change in the right direction. Otherwise, the impact of soil degradation on food security and peace will be manifold. For example, according to FAO, 2021, is reported that soil salinization degrades up to 1.5 million hectares of farmland per year and the amount of decrease in agricultural productivity caused by salinization is estimated to be US $ 31 million. It is also reported that more than 833 million hectares of soil around the globe are salt-affected, which is 8.7 per cent of the planet. The reported quantum of global soil degradation is 33 per cent.

That is why the celebration of World Soil Day on 5th December every year since 2014 at the international level with different suitable themes is a very welcome and right decision of the United Nations General Assembly. Because this is meant to focus the attention of the world community on the importance of healthy soil and aware and sensitize people to maintaining sustainable management of soil resources.

So, we all human beings across the world must be able to minimize the phenomenon of any sort of soil degradation sustainably. In this case, special mention may be made about the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management (VGSSM) adopted by the 4th

Global Soil Partnership (GSP) Plenary Assembly (Rome, 25th May 2016), approved by the 25th session of the FAO Committee on Agriculture (Rome, 28th September 2016) and finally endorsed by the 155th session of the FAO Council (Rome, 5th December 2016). This are-minimization of soil erosion, enhancing the soil organic matter content, fostering soil nutrient balance and cycles, prevention, minimization and mitigation of soil salinization and alkalization, prevention and minimization of soil acidification, preservation and enhancement of soil biodiversity, minimizing soil sealing, prevention and mitigation of soil compaction and improvement of soil water management.

We have to stop or minimize the effect of all factors (both natural and man-made) initiating and aggravating soil erosion because if it happens or continues, then it will lead to various types of soil degradation resulting in poor soil health and productivity, affecting food security. Likewise, we have to maintain due organic matter content, nutrient balance and cycles for sustaining total production and productivity of food crops through better and sustainable soil and crop management practices or strategies like crop rotation, sustainable irrigation, fertility management, crop residue management, judicious and balanced use of fertilizers and organic matter through an integrated mode of nutrient management etc. Similarly, factors responsible for resulting soil salinization, alkalization and acidification must be brought down to their minimum level through a very effective collection effort at the right time and place and this process should be sustained. Otherwise, a larger quantum of the effect of these three factors will result in huge areas of cropland becoming unfit for crop production due to the degradation of very soil health. This will aggravate the problem of food insecurity due to very poor production or productivity of crops. Another essential do-able action is the conservation and enhancement of soil biodiversity. Soil biodiversity encompasses parameters like micro-organisms (e.g., bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes), mesofauna (e.g., acari and springtails), macro-fauna (e.g., earthworms and termites) and plant roots due to their symbiotic relationships and interactions with other soil components. And these soil organisms have several beneficial effects on maintaining and sustaining soil health. So, human efforts should be able to ensure the sustainable protection and multiplication of these beneficial organisms for sound soil health. Soil water management approaches should be such that they ensure better uptake of nutrients, optimum crop growth and yield, minimum or no breeding of soil degradation of any type and human efforts should ensure sound physical condition of soil health.

So ensuring a sustainable soil management system will demand a very effective collective and community intervention regularly both from individual and institutional levels without compromising the issue of environmental pollution, biodiversity, ecology etc., and it will need consistent effort from all without geographical boundaries. To make this into reality, there must be due understanding and realization about of degradation of soil health and soil management system and this will require effective awareness among the masses on regular basis through all modes of media. Of course, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research through its various institutions, including SAUs and Krishi Vigyan Kendras across the country, is working consistently to create awareness and sensitize our people including our farming community about the importance of keeping soil health in the right condition regularly to cover its unreached people, besides distributing soil health cards to farming families. But still, more area needs to be covered. So let's work together.

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