Current Science

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Soil-Based Interventions for Economic Returns in India


Affiliations
1 Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati, Yerpedu 517 619, India
2 Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai 600 020, India
3 Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Studies, School of Habitat Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai 400 088, India
 

Available empirical evidence for the association between soil-based interventions and economic returns in India reveals the following. First, integrated nutrient management (INM) is superior to balanced nutrient management (BNM) in terms of yield and economic profit for the cultivation of maize and soybean. Second, incentivizing the usage of INM rather than BNM is likely to provide a better yield and higher income to rice, wheat and potato farmers. Third, more studies on various crops are required to scientifically compare and reach a definite conclusion on the yield and economic returns from different types of fertilizer applications – INM, BNM and organic or biofertilizers. These findings have policy implications in India since the Soil Health Card scheme was centralized in 2015.

Keywords

Community-Based Farming, Crop Yield, Economic Returns, Fertilizers, Soil Interventions.
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • Thakur, D. S. and Sharma, K. D., Organic farming, sustainable agriculture and meeting the challenges of food security in 21st century: an economic analysis. Indian J. Agric. Econ., 2005, 60(2), 1–15.

  • Swaminathan, M. S., An evergreen revolution. Crop Sci., 2006, 46(5), 2293–2303.

  • Pathak, H., Trend of fertility status of Indian soils. Curr. Adv. Agric. Sci., 2010, 2(1), 10–12.

  • Prasad, J., Soil health management – a key sustainable production. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci., 2015, 63(S), S6–S13.

  • Shamrao, T. S., A study of fertilizer policy in India. Int. J. Agric. Sci., 2011, 3(3), 145–149.

  • Chander, G., Wani, S. P., Sahrawat, K. L., Kamdi, P. J., Pal, C. K., Pal, D. K. and Mathur, T. P., Balanced and integrated nutrient management for enhanced and economic food production: case study from rainfed semi-arid tropics in India. Arch. Agron. Soil Sci., 2013, 59(12), 1643–1658.

  • Chander, G. et al., Soil test-based nutrient balancing improved crop productivity and rural livelihoods: case study from rainfed semi-arid tropics in Andhra Pradesh, India. Arch. Agron. Soil Sci., 2014, 60(8), 1051–1066.

  • Chander, G., Wani, S. P., Krishnappa, K., Sahrawat, K. L., Parthasaradhi, G. and Jangawad, L. S., Soil mapping and variety-based entry-point interventions for strengthening agriculture-based livelihoods – exemplar case of ‘Bhoochetana’ in India. Curr. Sci., 2016, 110(9), 1683–1691.

  • Gulati, A. and Narayanan, S., Demystifying fertiliser and power subsidies in India. Econ. Polit. Wkly, 2000, 35(10), 784–794.

  • Singh, B., Are nitrogen fertilizers deleterious to soil health? Agronomy, 2018, 8(4), 48.

  • Paul, B., Patnaik, U., Sasidharan, S., Murari, K. K. and Bahinipati, C. S., Fertilizer use, value and knowledge capital: a case of Indian farming. Sustainability, 2022, 14, 12491; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912491.

  • Gopikrishna, S. R., Soil health and support systems: contradictions and missing links. Econ. Polit. Wkly, 2012, 47(29), 24–26.

  • Wadodkar, M. R. and Ravisankar, T., Soil resource database at village level developmental planning. J. Indian Soc. Remote Sensing, 2011, 39(4), 529–536.

  • Jat, L. K. et al., Does integrated nutrient management enhance agricultural productivity. J. Pure Appl. Microbiol., 2015, 9(2), 1211–1221.

  • Bahinipati, C. S., Kumar, V. and Viswanathan, P. K., An evidence-based systematic review on farmers’ adaptation strategies in India. Food Security, 2021, 13, 399–418.

  • Bahinipati, C. S. and Patnaik, U., What motivates farm-level adaptation in India? a systematic review. In Climate Change and Community Resilience (eds Haque et al.), Springer, 2022, pp. 49–68.

  • Mishra, K. N., Patra, A. K., Garnayak, L. M., Mohanty, A. K. and Swain, S. K., Long-term effects of integrated nutrient management on productivity and soil properties of rice (Oryza sativa) – rice cropping system in coastal Odisha. Indian J. Agron., 2017, 62(3), 239–246.

  • Dey, P., Targeted yield approach of fertiliser recommendation for sustaining crop yield and maintaining soil health. JNKVV Res. J., 2015, 49(3), 338–346.

  • Dwivedi, B. S., Tiwari, R. K., Pandey, A. K., Tiwari, B. K. and Thakur, R. K., Economically viable STCR based nutrient management on soybean (Glycine max). Econ. Aff., 2015, 60(2), 225–228.

  • Dhillon, I. S. and Singh, D., Effect of integrated nutrient management on productivity and economics of rabi onion (Allium cepa L). J. Krishi Vigyan, 2019, 8(1), 87–91.

  • Patra, A. K., Mishra, K. N., Garnayak, L. M. and Mohanty, A. K., Influence of long-term organic nutrient management on soil quality and crop productivity in rice (Oryza sativa) – potato (Solanum tuberosum) – okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) cropping system under irrigated condition. Indian J. Agron., 2017, 62(3), 268–274.

  • Devi, K. N., Singh, M. S., Singh, N. G. and Athokpam, H. S., Effect of integrated nutrient management on growth and yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). J. Crop Weed, 2011, 7(2), 23–27.

  • Desai, H. A., Dodia, I. N., Desai, C. K., Patel, M. D. and Patel, H. K., Integrated nutrient management in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Trends Biosci., 2015, 8(2), 472–475.

  • Agarwal, D. K., Billore, S. D., Sharma, A. N., Dupara, B. U. and Stivastava, S. K., Soybean: introduction, improvement, and utilization in India – problems and prospects. Agric. Res., 2013, 2, 293–300.

  • Ramesh, P., Panwar, N. R., Singh, A. B., Ramana, S., Yadav, S. K., Shrivastava, R. and Rao, A. S., Status of organic farming in India. Curr. Sci., 2010, 98(9), 1190–1194.

  • Khadse, A. and Rosset, P. M., Zero budget natural farming in India – from Inception to institutionalization. Agroecol. Sustain. Food Syst., 2019, 43(7–8), 848–871.

  • Prasad, R., Organic farming vis-à-vis modern agriculture. Curr. Sci., 2005, 89(2), 252–254.

  • Bansal, K. N., Gupta, N. and Tomar, P. S., Nutrient management for crop production. JNKVV Res. J., 2015, 49(3), 280–291.

  • Lal, R., Restoring soil quality to mitigate soil degradation. Sustainability, 2015, 7(5), 5875–5895.

  • Manjula, M. and Devi, P. I., Organic farming in India: catalysts that can help in transition. Ecol., Econ. Soc. – INSEE J., 2021, 4(1), 21–29.

  • Jain, N., Bhatia, A. and Pathak, H., Emission of air pollutants from crop residue burning in India. Aerosol Air Qual. Res., 2014, 14(1), 422–430.

  • Kamble, B. M. and Kathmale, D. K., Effect of different levels of customized fertilizer on soil nutrient availability, yield and economics of onion. J. Appl. Nat. Sci., 2015, 7(2), 817–821.

  • Chouhan, R. S., Sharma, H. O., Rathi, D. and Niranjan, H. K., Impact of Soil Health Card scheme on farmers’ income – a case study of kharif crops in Madhya Pradesh. Agric. Econ. Res. Rev., 2017, 30(347-2017-2761), 139–141.

  • Bhat, J., Aaga, F., Ahmad, L., Bhat, T. A., Jan, R. and Wani, S., Response of rice (Oryza sativa) to integrated nutrient management under temperate condition of Kashmir. Curr. Adv. Agric. Sci., 2014, 6(1), 61–63.

  • Choudhary, V. K. and Kumar, P. S., Maize production, economics and soil productivity under different organic source of nutrients in eastern Himalayan Region, India. Int. J. Plant Prod., 2013, 7(2), 167–186.

  • Chander, G., Reddy, T. Y., Kumar, S., Padmalatha, Y., Reddy, S., Adinarayana, G., Wani, S. P., Reddy, Y. V. M. and Srinivas, K., Low-cost interventions for big impacts in dryland production systems. Arch. Agron. Soil Sci., 2019, 65(9), 1211–1222.

  • Deva, S., Rao, G. M. V., Vinayalakshmi, P. and Rao, C. V., Micro-nutrients spray on yield and economics of cotton in rainfed areas of Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh. J. Krishi Vigyan, 2019, 8(1), 208–211.

  • Mayadevi, M. R., Sushama, P. K. and Sandeep, S., Effects of in-situ bioconversion of farm residues on growth and quality of banana cv. Nendran in laterite soils of Kerala. J. Exp. Biol. Agric. Sci., 2017, 5(3), 341–350.

  • Bindu, B., Response of micronutrient mixture application in banana enhanced growth and yield. J. Krishi Vigyan, 2019, 8(1), 252–255.

  • Banyal, S. K. and Banyal, A. K., Foliar fertilization for enhancing yield and fruit quality of apple under rain-fed conditions of mid-Himalayas. J. Krishi Vigyan, 2019, 8(1), 137–141.

  • Kirankumar, C., Santhi, R., Maragatham, S., Meena, S. and Chandrasekhar, C. N., Validation of soil test crop response based fertiliser prescription equations under integrated plant nutrition system hybrid brinjal on inceptisol of Andhra Pradesh. Madras Agric. J., 2019, 106(7/9), 517–521.

  • Dwivedi, B. S., Rawat, A. K., Dixit, B. K. and Thakur, R. K., Effect of inputs integration on yield, uptake and economics of kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum L.). Econ. Aff., 2016, 61(3), 519–524.

  • Lal, R., Enhancing crop yields in the developing countries through restoration of the soil organic carbon pool in agricultural lands. Land Degrad. Dev., 2006, 17(2), 197–209.

  • Mishra, A., Prasad, K. and Geeta, R., Effect of bio-fertilizer inoculations on growth and yield of dwarf field pea (Pisum sativum L.) in conjunction with different doses of chemical fertilizers. J. Agron., 2010, 9(4), 163–168.


Abstract Views: 287

PDF Views: 152




  • Soil-Based Interventions for Economic Returns in India

Abstract Views: 287  |  PDF Views: 152

Authors

Chandra Sekhar Bahinipati
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati, Yerpedu 517 619, India
Aparajay Kumar Singh
Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai 600 020, India
Unmesh Patnaik
Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Studies, School of Habitat Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai 400 088, India

Abstract


Available empirical evidence for the association between soil-based interventions and economic returns in India reveals the following. First, integrated nutrient management (INM) is superior to balanced nutrient management (BNM) in terms of yield and economic profit for the cultivation of maize and soybean. Second, incentivizing the usage of INM rather than BNM is likely to provide a better yield and higher income to rice, wheat and potato farmers. Third, more studies on various crops are required to scientifically compare and reach a definite conclusion on the yield and economic returns from different types of fertilizer applications – INM, BNM and organic or biofertilizers. These findings have policy implications in India since the Soil Health Card scheme was centralized in 2015.

Keywords


Community-Based Farming, Crop Yield, Economic Returns, Fertilizers, Soil Interventions.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv124%2Fi5%2F547-553