Karnataka, which witnessed the worst agrarian crisis in recent years due to failure of rain, is also a poor performer in distribution of soil health cards to farmers.
According to the Union Ministry of Agriculture, Karnataka stands third among the three worst performers in distribution of soil health cards in the country. So far, 1.36 lakh health cards have been distributed in Karnataka against a cumulative target of 16.65 lakh, which is just 1.47% progress.
Karnataka stands just better than Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh which have made just 1.29% and 1.23% progress respectively. While Uttarakhand tops with 42% progress, neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu distributed 34% of cards each against the target set by the Centre. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the soil health card mission last February to encourage farmers to grow crops suited for the soil for better yield.
The scheme involved testing the soil and educating farmers on how to make it more fertile for better yield. Under the programme, the state agriculture department can engage any private firm to test the soil and educate farmers. The scheme also involves setting up soil testing laboratories and issuing soil health cards to farmers. The Union Ministry of Agriculture will bear 40% of the total expenditure of the scheme while rest will be spent by the state government.
Recently, at a meeting chaired by Union Health Minister Radha Mohan Singh to review all centrally sponsored programmes in the Agriculture Ministry, it was observed that Karnataka has been lagging behind in implementing the soil health card mission and was asked to buck up.
Karnataka witnessed the worst agrarian crisis in the past two years. The state also registered the sharpest jump in farmer suicides which shot up from 321 in 2014 to more than 1,300 in 2015, the third-highest among all states. Apart from failure of rain, mounting debt and crop loss are also reasons for rise in farmers' suicides in the state, said an official in the Ministry of Agriculture.
According to the Union Ministry of Agriculture, Karnataka stands third among the three worst performers in distribution of soil health cards in the country. So far, 1.36 lakh health cards have been distributed in Karnataka against a cumulative target of 16.65 lakh, which is just 1.47% progress.
Karnataka stands just better than Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh which have made just 1.29% and 1.23% progress respectively. While Uttarakhand tops with 42% progress, neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu distributed 34% of cards each against the target set by the Centre. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the soil health card mission last February to encourage farmers to grow crops suited for the soil for better yield.
The scheme involved testing the soil and educating farmers on how to make it more fertile for better yield. Under the programme, the state agriculture department can engage any private firm to test the soil and educate farmers. The scheme also involves setting up soil testing laboratories and issuing soil health cards to farmers. The Union Ministry of Agriculture will bear 40% of the total expenditure of the scheme while rest will be spent by the state government.
Recently, at a meeting chaired by Union Health Minister Radha Mohan Singh to review all centrally sponsored programmes in the Agriculture Ministry, it was observed that Karnataka has been lagging behind in implementing the soil health card mission and was asked to buck up.
Karnataka witnessed the worst agrarian crisis in the past two years. The state also registered the sharpest jump in farmer suicides which shot up from 321 in 2014 to more than 1,300 in 2015, the third-highest among all states. Apart from failure of rain, mounting debt and crop loss are also reasons for rise in farmers' suicides in the state, said an official in the Ministry of Agriculture.