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| Relevance: GS-I Natural Resources · GS-III Agriculture & Food Security | Source: Soil health & SOFI data, 2025–26 |
1 · What happened
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India just grew more food than ever — a record 357.73 million tonnes of foodgrain in 2024-25 (over 100 million tonnes more than a decade ago). Yet the country still struggles with poor nutrition. The 2025 SOFI report (State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World) shows 18.7% of Indian children under five suffer from wasting (too thin for their height) — the world’s highest — and 53.7% of women aged 15–49 have anaemia (iron deficiency). This is the production–nutrition paradox: more grain, but weaker nourishment. A key reason lies beneath our feet — tired, unhealthy soil. |
2 · The key idea: soil organic carbon
| Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) is the living, organic part of soil. It feeds the tiny microbes that help plants take in nutrients and helps the soil hold water. When SOC falls, the soil’s natural life breaks down. Chemicals can keep yields up for a while — but the soil slowly loses its real fertility. |
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The paradox
More food, weaker health
Record grain output, yet the world’s highest child wasting and very high anaemia among women.
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The cause
Rice–wheat overload
Decades of growing only rice and wheat, plus cheap urea overuse, have drained the soil of nutrients without giving it time to recover.
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The damage
Sick soil, by the numbers
64% of tested samples are low in nitrogen and 48.5% low in organic carbon. Zinc and iron are widely short; SOC in Punjab–Haryana has fallen below 0.5%.
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The fix
Natural farming works
Andhra Pradesh’s natural farming (APCNF) reaches over 17 lakh farmers across 9+ lakh hectares — matching chemical yields while rebuilding soil and cutting costs.
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3 · Why it matters & the way ahead
- Climate link: healthier soil holds far more water (a small rise in SOC adds tens of thousands of gallons per acre) — vital for India’s rain-fed farms during dry spells.
- Fix the subsidy: move toward a Nutrient-Based Subsidy (NBS) for all fertilisers (including urea) so farmers stop over-using cheap nitrogen.
- Reward diversity: back pulses and millets with price support so nitrogen-fixing crops return to the soil cycle.
- Return organic matter: use the GOBARdhan scheme to send composted waste back to fields and rebuild soil life.
| UPSC Value Box | ||||||||||||||
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| MCQ Practice Question |
Q. With reference to soil health and fertiliser policy in India, consider the following statements:
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? |
Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only
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