1) Soil degradation, especially from erosion, is a major threat to Indian agriculture, with over half of the country's land degraded. Erosion accounts for the loss of over 5 billion tons of soil per year. 2) The document outlines several government policies and programs aimed at preventing further soil degradation, promoting conservation, and improving water and nutrient management. It emphasizes the need for integrated approaches like wasteland development and precision irrigation. 3) Key recommendations include better mapping of degradation hazards, incentives for conservation practices, and further research on sustainable farming techniques to balance soil health and productivity over the long term.

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SOIL DEGRADATION: A THREAT TO INDIAN AGRICULTURE
Policies to Prevent Further Deterioration
Dr. M. Dhakshinamoorthy, Professor of Soil Science, TNAU, Coimbatore
INTRODUCTION
India is blessed with a wide array of soil types that would have developed
in the subcontinent as a direct consequence varying climatic conditions and
vegetations. According to the National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use
Planning (NBSS & LUP), taxonomically eight out of twelve Soil Orders in the
world exist in India. The Inceptisols (alluvial soils) cover nearly one-third of the
geographical area of the country. The arable land available per head has been
reduced by 50% in the past fifty years from 0.34 ha (1950) to 0.16 ha (1998-99).
The land available for cultivation is shrinking at an alarming rate due to the
exponential growth of urbanization that commensurate with increasing proportion
of lands unsuitable for cultivation of crops (Yadav, ,2002). It is utmost essential
to promote the soil productivity in order to maintain the achievement already
made in realizing self-sufficiency in food grain production. India has been
exposed to a very high degree of soil degradation within the club of developing
countries. According to the latest estimate, 187.7 million hectares (57.1%) of the
total geographical area (329 million hectares) is degraded. The degraded land
encompasses water erosion (148.9 million ha), chemical hazard (13.8 m ha) wind
erosion (13.5 m ha), water logging (11.6 m ha), salinization (10.1 m ha) and
nutrient depletion (3.7 m ha).
In this paper, various soil degradation hazards and their impacts on agro-
ecosystems and suggested policies to be orchestrated in order to prevent further
deterioration.
1. SOIL EROSION
Soil erosion is the surface removal of productive soil by means of water,
and wind that is the prime environmental costs in agriculture. Soil erosion alone
constitutes 86.5% of land degradation that is considered the most serious hazard
(Table 1). Approximately 5334 million tonnes of productive soil is being carried
away by erosion that accounts for 16.4 t/ha/year. The eroded soils leaches out
valuable plant nutrients to the tune of 5.0 to 8.4 million tonnes every year which
accounts for Rs. 6,100 to 21, 600 crores of estimated loss of money. The
removed soil gets accumulated in the reservoirs and thereby reducing their
storage capacity by 1-2% every year. Erosion has been accelerated in recent
times by vegetation removal, over exploitation of forest cover, excessive grazing
and faulty agricultural practices.

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Table 1: Soil degradation statistics (million hectares)
Types 1994 1997
Soil erosion 162.4 167.0
Salt affected soils 10.1 11.0
Water logging 11.6 13.0
Shifting cultivation NA 9.0
Total 175.0 187.8
Sehgal and Abrol (1994)
Government programmes introduced for Soil Conservation
Year Programme / Policies Special features
Restoration of ecological balance by
1978 Desert Development Programme harnessing, conserving and developing
natural resources
Policy planning for the scientific
1985 National Land Use and Wasteland management of the country's land
Development Council resources
Review the implementation of ongoing
schemes and programs connected with
conservation and development of land
resources and soils
1985 National Land Use and Conservation
Board Formulate a national policy and
perspective plan for conservation,
management and development of land
resources of the country
Formulate a perspective plan for the
management and development of
1985 National Wastelands Development wastelands in the country
Board
Identify the waste land and assess the
progress of programmes and schemes
for the development of wasteland
Create a reliable data base and
documentation centre .for waste land
development

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To devise an effective administrative
procedures for regulating land use for
further deterioration
1988 National Land Use Policy Allocation of land for different uses
based on land capability, productivity
and goals in order to restore the
productivity of degraded lands
Adopt soil and moisture conservation
measures such as terracing, bunding
1989- Integrated Wastelands Development etc.
90 Project
Enhance people's participation in
wasteland development programmes
Regulation of land use and urban
Constitution(74th Amendment ) Act,
1992 planning brought under the domain of
1992
urban self-governing bodies
Formulation of Integrated Land
Resource Management Policies
1999 Department of Land Resources
Implementation of land based
development programs
Policy Suggestions to Prevent Soil Erosion
The erosion being the monstrous factor associated with soil degradation, it
is appropriate to develop holistic strategies to minimize the erosion hazard and
conserve soil productivity
• Well-defined database and mapping of various types of soil
degradation hazard is very much required to develop strategies that
maybe widely adoptable. This task can be accomplished using
Geographical Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing
Techniques.
• Encourage rural population and tribal communities to utilize the non-
conventional energy sources such as biogas plants in order to prevent
overexploitation of forest cover
• Provision of incentives may be a cost effective measure to encourage
farmers to adopt soil conservation practices

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• Research should focus on the sustainable farming practice "Integrated
Crop Management " instead of looking at the crop production system
multi-dimensionally
• Proposed land use policy should form a basis for integrated approach
comprising different components such as land, soil and water
• Despite huge sum of money has been invested on watershed projects,
the data generated from these programmes are considered deficient
and requires clarity. A detailed database is required from each
watersheds that enable the policy makers to relate money invested
and productivity gains.
Conservation of Soil Resources
India is blessed with a wide array of soil types. According to the National
Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS & LUP), taxonomically
eight out of twelve Soil Orders in the world exist in India. The Inceptisols (alluvial
soils) cover nearly one-third of the geographical area of the country. The arable
land available per head has been reduced by 50% in the past fifty years from
0.34 ha (1950) to 0.16 ha (1998-99). The land available for cultivation is shrinking
at an alarming rate. It is imperative to promote the soil productivity in order to
maintain the achievement already made in the past.
India has been exposed to a very high degree of soil degradation within
the club of developing countries. According to the latest estimate, 187.7 million
hectares (57.1%) of the total geographical area (329 million hectares). The
degraded land encompasses water erosion (148.9 million ha), chemical hazard
(13.8 m ha) wind erosion (13.5 m ha), water logging (11.6 m ha), salinization
(10.1 m ha) and nutrient loss (3.7 m ha). Erosion alone constitutes 86.5% of land
degradation that leaches out valuable plant nutrients to the tune of 5.0 to 8.4
million tonnes every year. Approximately 5334 million tonnes of productive soil is
being carried away by erosion that accounts for 16.4 t/ha/year. The removed soil
gets accumulated in the reservoirs and thereby reducing their storage capacity
by 1-2% every year. The data vividly suggest that there is an urgent need to
bestow utmost importance to conserve the soil and improve the farm productivity.
Water Resources Management
The annual average precipitation in India is about 400 million ha
equivalent to 1% of the world’s average. Still India faces acute water shortages
as a direct consequence of erratic and uncertain rainfall in both in terms of time
and space but due to faulty management as well. A significant portion of water is
being lost through runoff, deep percolation and flow into the sea. In many water
balance studies it has been shown that the annual rainfall exceeds potential
evapotraspiration (ET) indicating ample opportunities to store excess rainwater

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and use it for irrigation during rain-free periods. Rainwater harvesting helps in
recharging groundwater and it constitutes an important component in improved
watershed management, with long-term vision of using land and water resources
for higher productivity and sustainability. The Tamil Nadu Government has made
an earnest but stern effort by legislating the rainwater-harvesting mandatory in
public and private buildings. Water harvesting has been assigned top-most
priority especially in the rainfed areas to promote diversification and
intensification of agriculture with an added advantage of safeguarding farmers
against frequent drought.
Recognizing the pivotal role of irrigation in augmenting agricultural
production, about 90 million hectares of irrigation potential including major,
medium and minor projects has been created. The country has 59 million ha of
net area irrigated accounting for 21.5% of the total irrigated area (274 million ha)
in the world. Approximately 38% of the total cropped area is irrigated with 134%
cropping intensity. After harnessing all available water resources an ultimate
irrigation potential of 139 million ha is contemplated. However, the faulty
irrigation management practices reduce the irrigation efficiency by 30-40%. The
water is being wasted in storage, conveyance and delivery. The traditional
concept of “more the water higher the crop yields” still persists with a majority of
cultivators.
Judicious use of irrigation water is essential to harness the benefits of
Green Revolution for a long period of time. The “Micro-irrigation Method” is not
merely an irrigation technology, it is an integrated management tool in the hands
of the farmer. In addition to the water savings, other consequential benefits of
this technology far outweigh its own principal advantage. In Micro-water Irrigation
Systems (MIS), water is applied to the root zone at slow speed under low
pressure and measured rate. This process saturates the effective root zone and
assists banana, citrus and tomato plants to yield higher by 50% in comparison to
flood irrigation with water saving of 40-60%. On an outset, it is clear that
agricultural growth and development is sustainable only when we choose to use
the costly limited water and land resources with the help of modern science and
technology without losing the sight of traditional watershed and water harvesting
practices.
Natural Resource Management through GIS
Increasing crop production requires bringing more area under agriculture,
increasing cropping intensity and productivity. Such an effort requires
identification and delineation of culturable wastelands, increasing irrigation
potential and optimal management of judicious use of land and water resources.
In this context, comprehensive and reliable information on land use, wastelands,
area under agricultural crops, water resources, hazard or natural calamities such
as drought and flooding are essential in order to make précised and quick
decisions. In short span of three decades, space borne remote sensing has

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emerged as a front running provider of information required for many agricultural
and allied activities. The utility of geographical information system (GIS) is
percolating down to the grass root level to take farming decisions at the micro-
level. The data generated from the GIS is widely used by the policy makers to
take accurate decisions.
Integrated Nutrient Management
Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) refers to the maintenance of soil
fertility and plant nutrient supply to an optimum level for sustaining the desirable
level of crop productivity through the concomitant use of organic, inorganic and
biofertilizer inputs. Fertilizer application has significantly contributed for the
enhanced grain production in the country. In the past fifty years, the fertilizer
consumption has increased by 6 times from 3 (1950) to 18 million tonnes (2000)
that commensurate with four-fold increase in food grain output. It has been
observed that the indiscriminate use of nitrogenous fertilizers appears to affect
the quality of crops through nitrate pollution in the groundwater. Further, the
use of high analysis fertilizers with exclusion of micronutrients in intensive
cropping systems has caused deficiencies of micronutrients. It has been reported
that the occurrence of micronutrients deficiencies to an extent of 46%, 9%, 5%
and 4%, Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, respectively (Singh and Saha, 1995). Correction of
micronutrient disorders is needed for sustainable farm production.
A holistic approach is to be adopted in order to maintain the balance
between the crop removal and addition of fertilizers. Balanced fertilizer
application is imperative for sustained productivity. In India, the problem is
compounded by imbalanced fertilizer use, leading to widening of NPK ratio from
5.9: 2.4: 1 in 1991-92 to 10: 2.9: 1 in 1996-97 as against the optimum ratio of 4 :
2: 1 (Yadav, 2002). Most of Indian soils are deficient but excessive use of N
alone fails to produce sustainable yields over a long period. Achieving balance
between the nutrient requirements of crops and the nutrient reserves in the soils
is essential for maintaining high yields and soil fertility, preventing environmental
contaminations and sustaining agricultural productions over the long-term.
The decline in crop yields due to continuous use of inorganic fertilizers has
been observed throughout the world. Therefore increasing need is being felt to
integrate nutrient supply with organic sources to restore the soil health.
Biofertilizers offer an economically attractive and ecologically sound means of
reducing external inputs and improving the quality and quantity of internal
resources. These are inputs containing microorganisms that are mobilizing
nutrients from non-usable to usable through biological processes. The beneficial
microbes include N fixers, P solubilizers and mycorrhizas that could be able to
save inorganic sources of nutrients by 25-30% with an additional benefit of
environmental safety. Harnessing earthworms as versatile bioreactors to
convert biodegradable organic wastes into useful manures is referred as
vermicompost. The vermicompost is enriched organic manure carrying all the

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essential nutrients and growth hormone required by crops. Application of
vermicompost @ 5 t ha-1 found to improve soil physico-chemical properties
thereby enhancing farm production. Therefore substitution organic and
biomanures are essential to improve the crop productivity and to circumvent the
ill-effects of over-use of inorganic fertilizers in agricultural production system.
Integrated Pest Management
Overexploitation of natural resources and excessive chemical pesticides use
in agriculture has led to poor sustainability of farm production. In the year 2000-
01, 50, 464 tonnes of pesticides have been used in agriculture and the quantity
gets unabated in the years to come. Despite IPM package has been developed
two decades ago, the adoption at the grass root level is far from desirable. India
is cherished with a wide range of botanicals with pesticidal value. The neem
“wonder tree” has enormous potential in offering protection against insect pests
that has to be fully exploited. More than 1000 plant species are known to have
insecticidal properties, 380 anti-feedant properties, 300 species are repellents
and 30 species each possessing attractant and insect growth regulator
properties. With a modern advent of biotechnology, resistant genes in wild
species of crops plants have been employed. India’s consumption of bio-agents
such as entomophages, botanicals, biopesticides and pheramones is less than
1% of the pesticide consumption compared to 12% globally. Use of pest
avoidance tactics, enhancement of biological pest suppression and adoption of
other non-chemical methods of pest management would certainly be able to
solve pest problems and improve the competitiveness of Indian agriculture in
International markets. Manipulation of agro-ecosystem should be made it to less
favourable to the pests and more congenial atmosphere for the natural enemies
to flare up to keep the pest population well below the threshold level.
The agro-ecosystem analysis and Farmers’ Field Schools (FFS) in IPM in
the recent years by the State and Central government departments have been
successful. The mission of National Agricultural Technology Project (NATP) by
the ICAR has given much fillip to IPM. This ecofriendly technology is highly
beneficial to small and marginal farmers and thus research and extension
activities should continue to grow. The special training in IPM under the “Women
in Agriculture Programme” assisted in the effective implementation of IPM
technologies.
Post-harvest management
The post-harvest management practices are utmost important to improve
the availability food for Indian population. As fruits and vegetables production is
seasonal resulting in surplus during peak season and shortage in off-season.
Post harvest losses are extremely high for horticultural crops especially fruits and
vegetables due to improper handling, storage, marketing, processing and

8. 8
distribution systems. Despite the fact that India is the second largest producer of
fruits and vegetables, per capita availability is lower due to post-harvest losses,
accounts for more than 40-60% which can be saved if proper storage facilities
are created. Unless the post-harvest loss is prevented, the marvelous
achievement made in the production will be vitiated. The cost involved in the
preventing the post-harvest losses is much lesser than the cost of production.
Thus, there is a need for more sophisticated marketing mechanisms with
improved grading, storage and transport ensuring minimal wastage. Hi-tech
packaging and storage technologies available for fruits and vegetables include
Modified Atmospheric Packaging (MAP), Controlled Atmospheric Packaging
(CAP) and Modified Humidity Packaging (MP) that can be made usable by the
producers in order to enhance the shelf-life of their produce. Zero-energy cool
chambers working on the principle of evaporative cooling can be easily adoptable
by small and marginal farmers.
2. NUTRIENT IMBALANCE IN INDIAN SOILS
In the past fifty years, the fertilizer consumption has increased
exponentially by 6 times from 3 (1950) to 18 million tonnes (2000) that
commensurate with four-fold increase in food grain output. It has been observed
that the indiscriminate use of nitrogenous fertilizers appears to affect the quality
of crops through nitrate pollution in the groundwater. A holistic approach is to be
adopted in order to maintain the balance between the crop removal and addition
of fertilizers. Balanced fertilizer application is imperative for sustained
productivity. In India, the problem is compounded by imbalanced fertilizer use,
leading to widening of NPK ratio from 5.9: 2.4: 1 in 1991-92 to 10: 2.9: 1 in 1996-
97 as against the optimum ratio of 4 : 2: 1 (Yadav, 2002). Most of Indian soils are
deficient but excessive use of N alone fails to produce sustainable yields over a
long period. Achieving balance between the nutrient requirements of crops and
the nutrient reserves in the soils is essential for maintaining high yields and soil
fertility, preventing environmental contaminations and sustaining agricultural
productions over the long-term.
The deterioration in soil health caused by imbalanced fertilization has truly
reflected on the annual yield growth rate of several field crops that begin to
stagnate over the past few years (Table 2). The data have shown that the
decrease is annual yield growth rate of food grains from 3.33 to 1.42%, from 2.47
to 1.28% in the case of non-food grains and from 2.99 to 1.34% in case of all
crops. Cotton registered even a negative growth rate. Despite the use of
improved crop varieties and production technologies, the declining trend is as a
consequence of the deceleration in total factor productivity. This is a serious
concern in achieving targeted productions.
Table. 2: Average annual growth rate (%) in yield of major crops of India
Crops 1980 - 1990 1991 - 1999
Cereals 3.43 1.63

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Pulses 2.63 0.65
Oilseeds 2.73 1.62
Sugarcane 1.81 1.08
Cotton 3.56 -0.47
All Crops 2.99 1.34
(Swaminathan, 2000)
The statistics on soil deterioration in conjunction with stagnation in crop
yields vividly suggest that there is an urgent need to bestow utmost importance
to balanced fertilization to enable sustainable farm productivity. Plausible policies
are to be orchestrated by both the Central and State governments to reduce
further deterioration in soil quality.
Suggested Policies for the maintenance of soil nutrient balance
There are new developments in the mission to maintain soil nutrient
balance that receive bountiful of appreciation from farmers, extension
functionaries, scientists and students. The following technologies are to be
popularized both by Central and State Governments.
• Fertilizer subsidy to a specific fertilizer may be avoided. Decontrol of
nitrogenous fertilizers especially for urea has triggered its excessive
use in crop production with consequential groundwater pollution.
• The organic status of most Indian soils has declined drastically due to
continuous use of inorganic fertilizers. There is an urgent need to
integrate nutrient supply with organic sources to restore the soil health.
But the availability of organic manures (especially farm yard manure) is
scarce in many pockets of the nation that can be fulfilled by alternate
sources of organic manures such as vermicompost, composted coir
wastes and farm wastes may be encouraged.
• Research on farm level nutrient balance studies has to undertaken in
order to assess the emerging trends in nutrient deficiencies or toxicities
in agro-ecosystems. The NUTMON tool box which is a computer
software that can generate nutrient balance to determine the nutrient
inflow and outflow in micro-level farming situations as well as regional
and national scale. The outcome of this research programme will be
useful for policy makers to plan for a sustainable nutrient management.
• Appropriate computer-aided decision support system can be lavishly
used for scientific fertilizer prescription in the mission of soil fertility
management. The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Department of
Soil Science in Coimbatore, has developed a computer assisted
Decision Support System for Integrated Fertilizer Management

10. 1
(DSSIFER). The DSSIFER is an effective tool to provide fertilizer
prescription, ameliorative measures for problem soil management and
other improved agronomic practices for cultivation of crops.
• Suitable Government policies must be evolved to distribute Soil Health
Card (SHC) nation-wide to the farmers for use. The SHC is similar to
the ration card of a farm family who can make entries of the nutrient
management practices in the card on a regular basis to enable them to
identify the production constraints and take up suitable actions for
sustainable farming.
• Encourage farmers to adopt Integrated Nutrient Management (INM)
practices to the maintain soil fertility and plant nutrient supply to an
optimum level for sustaining the desirable level of crop productivity
through the concomitant use of inorganic, organic and biofertilizer
inputs.
• Biofertilizers offer an economically attractive and ecologically sound
means of reducing external inputs and improving the quality and
quantity of internal resources. These are bioinputs that are mobilizing
nutrients from non-usable to usable through biological processes. The
beneficial microbes include N fixers, P solubilizers and mycorrhizas
that could be able to save inorganic sources of nutrients by 25-30%
with an additional benefit of environmental safety.
• Research priorities should include developing recommendations and
technologies for fertilizer and organic matter management for specific
soils, climate and crops as part of precision agriculture.
.
3. MICRONUTRIENT STATUS OF INDIAN SOILS
In India, the continuous cultivation of crops with high analysis straight
fertilizers has pronounced a sharp decline in availability of micronutrients in soils
and this associated with a reduction in nutritional qualities of agricultural produce
and crop yields (Anon, 2003). It has been reported that the occurrence of
micronutrients deficiencies in Indian soils to an extent of 46%, 9%, 5% and 4%,
Zn, Fe, Cu and Mn, respectively (Singh and Saha, 1995). Consequently, both the
production and consumption of micronutrients have increased by 30% in three
years during 1999 - 2001. Correction of micronutrient disorders is gaining
importance and of utmost need for sustainable farm production. Among the
micronutrients, Zn appears to be deficient in most soils in India at varying
intensities with the exception of acidic soil regions where the Zn status is at the
moderate level. The inherent ability of the soil to supply boron and sulphur is at
the declining trend and requires replenishment. Augmentation or restoration of
lost soil fertility and productivity can be achieved only through addition of

11. 1
micronutrient fertilizers and mobilization of their residual effect through proper
nutrient cycling. The applied micronutrient in the soil is often unavailable to the
crop plants due heavy fixation in soils. Consequently, the micronutrient use
efficiency by plants is extremely lower. To make the situation more complex,
multiple micronutrient deficiencies are more prevalent than as a single nutrient
deficiency.
The response to soil application of micronutrients is vividly indicated in
field experiments conducted at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University,
Coimbatore Centre of the ICAR-Micronutrient Scheme in the past four decades.
The data have shown that Zn application has enhanced the yield of rice, pulses,
millets, oilseeds and turmeric to the tune of 25%, 20%, 16.7%, 17.3% and 14.4%,
respectively. The response to added Zn is often associated with deficiencies
below its critical levels in soils. Thus, addition of Zn is imperative in order to
maintain crop yields in various production systems. Next to the Zn, Fe application
appears to promote yields of millets and sugarcane by 30% and 40%
respectively. The deficiency of Fe is often associated with lime status. As millets
and sugarcane are quite sensitive to Fe, they exhibit interveinal chlorosis as a
consequence of calcium induced Fe deficiency. In addition to the soil application,
foliar sprays were found to correct nutrient disorders in crop plants. The response
was more pronounced for pulses than other crops. In addition, pulses have
responded favourably to foliar spray of Mn and Mo. On an out set , micronutrient
fertilization contributes towards the crop yields to the tune of 10-20% depending
on the severity of micronutrient deficiencies.
Suggested policies in micronutrient management
• Delineation of micronutrient deficiencies in India should be done to
create a database as a reference tool for policy making. The ICAR has
15 micronutrient centres of which Tamil Nadu Agricultural University,
Coimbatore, is one of the oldest Centres carrying out micronutrient
research for the past 40 years. The data from various centres can be
used to develop database on micronutrient status of Indian soils. The
GIS technology may be employed to map the micronutrient deficient
regions at the micro and macro levels.
• Popularization of computer-assisted software for the identification
nutrient disorders in crop plants should be taken up all levels. The
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Department of Soil Science,
Coimbatore, has developed an innovative computer aided Visual
Diagnostic Kit (VDK) that can be used for the identification of nutrient
deficiencies and to derive suitable remedial measures. Besides it is a
user-friendly tool for the farmers, students, researchers and extension
workers to precisely identify nutrient disorders in crop plants.

12. 1
• Research on multi-micronutrient product formulations including
chelating compounds has to be carried out in various cropping
situations. This may be an effective technology to ameliorate multi-
micronutrient deficiencies and sustain farm production.
• Studies on economizing micronutrient use through seed pelleting and
foliar sprays may be taken. As the utilization of micronutrients by plants
is relatively smaller these agro-techniques may be useful in curtailing
costs with an added benefit of highest rate of use efficiency.
4. ORGANIC FARMING
In India, there are also efforts to return back to the organic agriculture in
order to improve the quality of food production and to promote nutritional security
and ensure sustainability. It’s the concept of “Merry Go Around”. Organic
production system largely excludes the use of synthetically compound fertilizers,
pesticides, growth regulators and livestock feed additives. To the extent possible,
organic farming rely on crop rotation, crop residues, animal manures,
biofertilizers, botanicals and biopesticides to maintain soil productivity and tilth, to
supply plant nutrients and to control weeds and pests. The organic agricultural
products fetched US $ 17 billion in the global market in the year 2000 that is
likely to double in five years reaching a figure of US $ 31 billion in 2005. Over
50% of the global share comes from the USA that gains $ 8 billion through the
sale of organic produce. Inside this market place, India’s share is meager
0.001%. India is ranking 75 th position in the global organic agriculture scenario.
Why there is a vertical shift required from inorganic to organic? The Indian
agriculture is beginning to show a sign of yield stabilization, imbalance in soil
nutrient status, loss of nutritional security and livelihood of people. India’s organic
production has touched 14,000 tonnes in 2002, of which 11,000 tonnes had been
exported. The exported organic produce includes coffee, tea, rice, wheat, pulses,
oilseeds, fruits, vegetables, cotton and herbal extracts. India is a highly
bidiversified country producing a wide array of oriental vegetables and fruits that
has greater export market potential. Organic farming is essential to promote
export-oriented agriculture and stimulate livelihood of the farming communities.
The organic farming in relation of food security of India is yet to be
established. The primary concern for any Government is to meet the food
requirement of the people and to ensure hunger free situation in any nation. To
maintain current rate of food grain production in India without chemical fertilizer
input, additional area has to be brought under cultivation that is hardly possible to
achieve (Chhonkar, 2003). Almost all long-term fertilizer experiments conducted
by ICAR centres in the country have vividly demonstrated that the integration of
organics and inorganics can produce reasonably higher yields and maintain soil
fertility. Despite organics are indispensable in agricultural production system, the
realization of its fullest potential is yet to be seen in sustainable grain productivity.

13. 1
Suggested policies in organic farming
• Policy initiatives are required to demonstrate at the commercial scale
that how best the organic agriculture can minimize or eliminate usage
of chemicals and costs involved in agricultural production systems.
• Efforts are to be geared up to enhance the availability of non-
conventional (coir waste compost and vermicompost) and conventional
(green manure) sources of organics.
• Intense research is necessary to unequivocally prove the nutrient
utilization pattern and quality improvement in organically grown
agricultural produce.
• Research on organic production package for exportable crops such as
sugarcane, fruits, vegetables and medicinal plants is very much
required
• Organic certification centres have to be established in various export
zones with a complete set of administrative and analytical facilities as
is the one in Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore.
• Laws and legislation should be in place to monitor the organic
production and marketing of agricultural produce
CONCLUSIONS
The soil degradation is increasing at the alarming proportion and needs to
be circumvented to sustain agricultural production in India. Among various
factors responsible for soil degradation, erosion appears to be the first and
deserves governmental and non-governmental agencies to take immediate steps
to minimize the hazard. Currently, several policies are in place without much
impact at the large scale. Maintenance of soil nutrient status may be possible by
adopting recently developed innovative site-specific nutrient management
approaches. Micronutrient fertilization seems to contribute one-fifth of the total
agricultural output deserves much more significance in the years to come. Timely
identification and ameliorative measures are required to minimize the loss in crop
productivity. Organic movement is gaining momentum in India and its
applicability is more rationale and reasonable for export oriented agriculture.
Sustainability in food security in relation to organic farming is yet to be
established.

14. 1
REFERENCES
Chhonkar, P.K. (2003) Organic farming : Science and belief. J. Indian Soc. Soil
Sci. 51: 365-377.
Singh, M.V. and Saha, J.K. (1995) Twenty sixth progress report of the All India
Co-ordinated Scheme of Micro- and Secondary Nutrients and Polluted
elements in the Soils and Plants. Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal.
Swaminathan, M.S. (2000) Inaugural address at the International Conference on
managing Natural Resources for Sustainable Agricultural Production in the
21st Century, New Delhi .
Yadav, J.S.P. (2002) Agricultural resource management in India - The
challenges. J. Agric. Resource Management. 1: 61-69.