Analyzing Farmer’s Perception of the Soil Health Card Scheme and Its Role in Reducing Farming Production Costs

Abstract

Injudicious and haphazard use of chemical fertiliser in agriculture is a matter of concern in recent times. To avoid the deterioration of soil in the long run and to visualise the importance of balanced nutrients in crop production. The Soil Health Card (SHC) provides soil health data to get appropriate guidance to the farmers for the efficient use of fertiliser to cultivate crops based on soil health analysis. The SHC is a simple document which contains useful data on soil based on chemical analysis of the soil to describe soil health in terms of its nutrient availability and its physical and chemical properties. The soil health card is also made available online for farmers. To understand the feelings of the farmers against this system, there is an urgent need to study the degree of positive or negative disposition associated with farmers towards the usefulness and application of the Soil Health Card. Thus, the present study on farmers' perception regarding the soil health card was undertaken. The study was conducted in three blocks of the Rewari district with 120 Soil health cardholders. The findings revealed that the majority of the farmers had knowledge and understanding about the utility of the soil health card. The findings further reveal that a maximum number of Soil health card holders had a favourable attitude towards the Soil health card, followed by less favourable and most favourable attitudes towards the Soil health card. Among constraints, difficulty in calculating fertiliser dose on the basis of nutrient status of soil was the major constraint faced by the majority of the respondents.