Indian Soil and Raising Concerns About Soil Fertility

Over a period of time, soil productivity has become a global movement, with many Government initiatives introduced in this regard to improve soil fertility. India is a country with a population of more than 1,000 million people and the seventh largest country in the world with a geographical area of 328.7 million hectares. Agriculture is the mainstay of the Indian economy contributing about 22% to the Gross Domestic Product and providing employment to two-thirds of the population. The ever-increasing need for food to support the growing population in India demands a systematic approach to preserve its soil and climatic conditions in order to prepare effective land-use plans.

Increasing pressure on limited agricultural land in India has resulted in the overuse of chemical fertilizers, jettisoning of age-old practices of organic farming, excessive tillage and lack of appropriate crop rotation. In fact, India is the third-largest producer and consumer of