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Special Report                                                                                                                                                                   Special Report



         Holistic approach for agricultural development                                                              soil  and ammonia  volatilisation from  operative farming system approach  to address food and climate issues
                                                                                                                     the soil surface into the atmosphere  would be helpful for the farmers to  requires coordinated efforts at all levels –
                                                                                                                     will be minimum.  The need of the  use advanced technologies  for their  from research  to policies,  and across
             griculture  continues to be the                              of soil health; depleting natural          hour is to promote balanced fertilisa-  benefits.                   commercial,  governmental, and  civil
             backbone of  the Indian eco-                                 and water resources; imbalance in          tion and integrated nutrient manage-                                society sectors. Identifi cation, creation,
       Anomy. Quite a large number of                                     use of fertilisers; fragmentation of       ment (INM) among the farmers by  Nutrient management                and adoption at fi eld levels of suitable
       people depend directly or indirectly on                            land holdings; etc. In 2023, there was     stakeholders.                        Proper nutrient management is also  location-specifi c  climate-smart  agri-
       agriculture for  their livelihood. How-                            longest delay in onset of south-west                                         one of the major factors bringing suc-  culture technologies, and promotion
       ever, it continues to be the largest and                           monsoon. Further,  August 2023 was         Constraints of water              cess in  precision agriculture.  Modern  of integrated farming systems will go
       high-risk economy activity. India has                              considerably dry, and rainfall was            Water  is  the most  important  tools and technologies such as remote  a long way in enhancing  agriculture
       geographical area of about 329-million                             36% below the long-term average.           natural resource for civilisation to  sensing,  artifi cial  intelligence,  drone  production, farmers’ income, elevating
       hectares, divided  into 20  agro-climate                           Many sub-divisions received defi cient      survive. Agriculture is a major con-  technology,  variable rate technology,  poverty and ensuring food & nutritional
       regions and has become the most popu-                              rains during the season including parts    sumer of water. Over-exploitation of  crop  modelling,  site  specifi c  nutrient  security on sustainable basis.
       lated country in  the world.  India has                            of north-eastern States, eastern U.P.,     ground water resource is leading to  management, leaf colour chart and
       18% of world population on 2.3% of                                 Gangetic  West Bengal, Jharkhand,          falling ground water table and creat-  mobile applications are helping farmers   In line  with the  purchasing power
       geographical area and 4% of freshwater   to 2021-22. More than 90% of rice is  Bihar,  South interior Karnataka and   ing  hydrological  droughts.  In  canal-  make informed decisions about better  of farmers and occupation of land, dif-
       resources.                        procured from 11 States. There was mar-  Kerala.  The South-west monsoon    irrigated areas due to seepage losses  nutrient management, reducing wast-
                                         ginal dip of 1.2% in procurement of rice  withdrew from the entire country on   and overuse of water for irrigation,  age and minimizing environment foot-  ferent models of nutrient management
                                                                                                                                                                                         (specifi c to combinations of fertilisers,
       Production of food grains         in 2022-23 compared to 2021-22.  The  October 19, 2023.                     problems of salinity and alkalinity are  prints. The tools also help in improving  organic manures, bio-fertilisers, recyc-
          To feed 1.42-bn people, the coun-  dwindling stocks of rice and wheat in the                               major issues.                     farm productivity and farmers’ income.
       try produced 329.7-mt of food grains   central pool can be a cause of worry at   During  the current year, Southern                                                               ling of agricultural wastes, etc.) for
                                                                                                                                                                                         optimizing cost  of  cultivation, which
       and 355.5-mt of horticultural crops in   any stage of time. Procurement of wheat   Peninsula and coastal areas were worst   Scientific  management  of  water   Conservation agriculture  (CA) is  will translate to enhancing farm pro-
       2022-23.  The  corresponding  fi gures   is in progress. It is hoped that the procure-  affected by severe heat waves and high   is indispensable for agricultural  an area in which nutrient management  ductivity and income of farmers, need
       for 2023-24 are expected to be 328.9-mt   ment will be better in view of expectation   temperatures in April. However, a relief   growth, and sustainability of eco-  requires reorientation. Under CA there  to be developed taking all factors into
                                         of record production of wheat as per the
       and 352.2-mt, respectively. Except   second advance estimates released by   in the form of normal southwest mon-  systems. Proper synchronisation of  are scientifi c evidence for lower nutri-  consideration.
       wheat and jute & mesta, production of   the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers   soon and good rains in August as per   application of fertilisers before or  ent requirements and high effi ciencies.
       oilseeds, sugarcane and cotton is   Welfare.                       the weather forecast due to  La Nina       after irrigation as per the situation  Refi ning  fertiliser  practices;  promoting
       expected to decline in 2023-24 compared                            effect  will  be  quite  helpful  for  the   improves nutrient as well as water-  high nutrient use efficiency and   Concluding remarks
       to 2022-23. The country is self-suffi -  Agricultural productivity  agricultural sector.                       use efficiency. Rainwater harvesting  crop variants;  advancing  sub-surface   A holistic approach for mitigating
       cient in production of food grains   Productive land should be used for                                       with construction of bunds and check  application; mechanisation; exploring   climate change; proper water manage-
       except for oilseeds and pulses. Estimated   agriculture  only, rather than diverting   Restoring soil health  dams in rural areas should be taken on  fertigation; and realt-ime nutrient man-  ment; promotion of balanced fertilisation
       requirements  for 2050 are  405-mt  of   for other purposes.  Average yields of   Deterioration of soil health is hap-  war footing. This has become neces-  agement tools are crucial for improving   and integrated nutrient management;
       food grains, 39-mt of oilseeds and 646-mt   paddy and wheat in India in 2021 were   pening due to lowering of organic matter   sarily in view of climate change.  CA’s productivity and sustainability.  improvement in nutrient-use effi ciency;
       of horticultural produce for nourishing   4,214-kg/ha and 3,467-kg/ha,  compared   content and imbalanced use of fertili-  Every drop of water needs to be                        importance  of  crop  diversifi cation  and
       about 1.69-bn people.  The growth   to 7,144-kg/ha and 5,811-kg/ha in China,   sers. Balanced fertilisation can easily be   conserved in the soil. Recommended  Climate-smart agriculture  integrated farming systems; use of
       in agricultural production should be on   respectively. The yields of food grains in   adopted by following soil test-based   practices of water application in   Climate-smart  agriculture is  a   modern tools; and adoption of precision
       sustainable basis as there have been ups   India are also lower than in many deve-  recommendations and the same needs   different crops should  be  practiced  comprehensive approach intended to   and conservation agriculture has to be
       and downs on year-on-year basis.  loping and developed countries. There are   more emphasis for farmers to accept   by farmers. Use of micro-irrigation  preserve sustainability, resilience,  and   given more momentum for sustainable
                                         considerable  inter-State and inter-region   this  concept.  Use  effi ciency  of  applied                                                       growth in agriculture.
       Minimum support prices & procure-  variations in average yields of the crops.   N, P2O5, K2O, S and micronutrients is   system is on rise in the country, and  mitigation  in the agricultural  produc-  [Indian Journal of Fertilisers, 20 (5): 446-
                                                                                                                     it should be given more impetus. For  tion system.  An  integrated, evidence-
                                                                          35-50%, less than 20%, 50-60%, 8-12%
       ment                              Furthermore,  the  yields  are  low at  far-  and 2-5%, respectively. Farmers need to   fragmentation of land holdings, co-  based, and transformative  approach
          Government of India announces   mers’ level, compared to well managed                                                                                                          447, May 2024]
       minimum  support prices (MSPs) for 22   conditions under scientific supervi-  make use of the scheme of distribution
       commodities. Government also procures   sion. This shows that there exists a large   of soil health cards of Government of
       wheat and rice at procurement prices for   untapped potential to enhance farm pro-  India for their benefi ts. Products such
                                                                                                                                                               Missed a copy !!!
       maintaining buffer stock to meet exigen-  ductivity in the country.  as  neem-coated  urea,  sulphur-coated                                For Digital Edition of this month’s issue & all other past issues
       cies and requirement  of public  distri-                           urea, nano-fertilisers, slow-release N
       bution system (PDS). Punjab, Madhya   Changing weather patterns    fertilisers  and  nitrifi cation  inhibitors                                         Visit www.hpicindia.com
       Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana   Indian agriculture sector has been  have been reported to enhance nitro-                                       PDF copies available for download
       contribute  more than 90% of wheat to   facing enormous challenges of chang-  gen-use effi ciency. If a farmer makes                                        Register Now
       the central pool. Procurement of wheat in   ing patterns of temperature and weather  use of fertilisers sensibly, the chances   Contact: For Subscription   : Mrs. Usha S. - usha@hpicindia.com
       2022-23 was down by 56.6% compared   due  to  climatic change; deterioration  of leaching of nitrate nitrogen into the                   For Advertising   : Mr. Vijay Raghavan - vijay@hpicindia.com


       192                                                                       Chemical Weekly  July 9, 2024       Chemical Weekly  July 9, 2024                                                                   193


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