SOIL DEGRADATION: A THREAT TO INDIAN AGRICULTURE

Policies to Prevent Further Deterioration

Dr. M. Dhakshinamoorthy, Professor of Soil Science, TNAU, Coimbatore

INTRODUCTION

India is blessed with a wide array of soil types that would have developed in the subcontinent as a direct consequence varying climatic conditions and vegetations. According to the National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS & LUP), taxonomically eight out of twelve Soil Orders in the world exist in India. The Inceptisols (alluvial soils) cover nearly one-third of the geographical area of the country. The arable land available per head has been reduced by 50% in the past fifty years from 0.34 ha (1950) to 0.16 ha (1998-99). The land available for cultivation is shrinking at an alarming rate due to the exponential growth of urbanization that commensurate with increasing proportion of lands unsuitable for cultivation of crops (Yadav, ,2002). It is utmost essential to promote the soil productivity in order to maintain the achievement already made in realizing self-sufficiency in food grain production. India has been exposed to a very high degree of soil degradation within the club of developing countries. According to the latest estimate, 187.7 million hectares (57.1%) of the total geographical area (329 million hectares) is degraded. The degraded land encompasses water erosion (148.9 million ha), chemical hazard (13.8 m ha) wind erosion (13.5 m ha), water logging (11.6 m ha), salinization (10.1 m ha) and nutrient depletion (3.7 m ha).

In this paper, various soil degradation hazards and their impacts on agro-ecosystems and suggested policies to be orchestrated in order to prevent further deterioration.

1. SOIL EROSION

Soil erosion is the surface removal of productive soil by means of water, and wind that is the prime environmental costs in agriculture. Soil erosion alone constitutes 86.5% of land degradation that is considered the most serious hazard (Table 1). Approximately 5334 million tonnes of productive soil is being carried away by erosion that accounts for 16.4 t/ha/year. The eroded soils leaches out valuable plant nutrients to the tune of 5.0 to 8.4 million tonnes every year which accounts for Rs. 6,100 to 21, 600 crores of estimated loss of money. The removed soil gets accumulated in the reservoirs and thereby reducing their storage capacity by 1-2% every year. Erosion has been accelerated in recent times by vegetation removal, over exploitation of forest cover, excessive grazing and faulty agricultural practices.

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Table 1: Soil degradation statistics (million hectares)Types 1994 1997Soil erosion 162.4 167.0Salt affected soils 10.1 11.0Water logging 11.6 13.0Shifting cultivation NA 9.0Total 175.0 187.8

Sehgal and Abrol (1994)

Government programmes introduced for Soil Conservation

Year Programme / Policies Special features

1978 Desert Development ProgrammeRestoration of ecological balance by harnessing, conserving and developing natural resources

1985 National Land Use and Wasteland Development Council 

Policy planning for the scientific management of the country's land resources 

1985 National Land Use and Conservation Board

Review the implementation of ongoing schemes and programs connected with conservation and development of land resources and soils

Formulate a national policy and perspective plan for conservation, management and development of land resources of the country

1985 National Wastelands Development Board

Formulate a perspective plan for the management and development of wastelands in the country

Identify the waste land and assess the progress of programmes and schemes for the development of wasteland

Create a reliable data base and documentation centre .for waste land development

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1988 National Land Use Policy 

To devise an effective administrative procedures for regulating land use for further deterioration

Allocation of land for different uses based on land capability, productivity and goals in order to restore the productivity of degraded lands

1989-90

Integrated Wastelands Development Project

Adopt soil and moisture conservation measures such as terracing, bunding etc.

Enhance people's participation in wasteland development programmes

1992Constitution(74th Amendment ) Act, 1992

Regulation of land use and urban planning brought under the domain of urban self-governing bodies

1999 Department of Land Resources

Formulation of Integrated Land Resource Management Policies

Implementation of land based development programs

Policy Suggestions to Prevent Soil Erosion

The erosion being the monstrous factor associated with soil degradation, it is appropriate to develop holistic strategies to minimize the erosion hazard and conserve soil productivity

Well-defined database and mapping of various types of soil degradation hazard is very much required to develop strategies that maybe widely adoptable. This task can be accomplished using Geographical Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing Techniques.

Encourage rural population and tribal communities to utilize the non-conventional energy sources such as biogas plants in order to prevent overexploitation of forest cover

Provision of incentives may be a cost effective measure to encourage farmers to adopt soil conservation practices

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Research should focus on the sustainable farming practice "Integrated Crop Management " instead of looking at the crop production system multi-dimensionally

Proposed land use policy should form a basis for integrated approach comprising different components such as land, soil and water

Despite huge sum of money has been invested on watershed projects, the data generated from these programmes are considered deficient and requires clarity. A detailed database is required from each watersheds that enable the policy makers to relate money invested and productivity gains.

Conservation of Soil Resources

India is blessed with a wide array of soil types. According to the National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS & LUP), taxonomically eight out of twelve Soil Orders in the world exist in India. The Inceptisols (alluvial soils) cover nearly one-third of the geographical area of the country. The arable land available per head has been reduced by 50% in the past fifty years from 0.34 ha (1950) to 0.16 ha (1998-99). The land available for cultivation is shrinking at an alarming rate. It is imperative to promote the soil productivity in order to maintain the achievement already made in the past.

India has been exposed to a very high degree of soil degradation within the club of developing countries. According to the latest estimate, 187.7 million hectares (57.1%) of the total geographical area (329 million hectares). The degraded land encompasses water erosion (148.9 million ha), chemical hazard (13.8 m ha) wind erosion (13.5 m ha), water logging (11.6 m ha), salinization (10.1 m ha) and nutrient loss (3.7 m ha). Erosion alone constitutes 86.5% of land degradation that leaches out valuable plant nutrients to the tune of 5.0 to 8.4 million tonnes every year. Approximately 5334 million tonnes of productive soil is being carried away by erosion that accounts for 16.4 t/ha/year. The removed soil gets accumulated in the reservoirs and thereby reducing their storage capacity by 1-2% every year. The data vividly suggest that there is an urgent need to bestow utmost importance to conserve the soil and improve the farm productivity.

Water Resources Management

The annual average precipitation in India is about 400 million ha equivalent to 1% of the world’s average. Still India faces acute water shortages as a direct consequence of erratic and uncertain rainfall in both in terms of time and space but due to faulty management as well. A significant portion of water is being lost through runoff, deep percolation and flow into the sea. In many water balance studies it has been shown that the annual rainfall exceeds potential evapotraspiration (ET) indicating ample opportunities to store excess rainwater

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and use it for irrigation during rain-free periods. Rainwater harvesting helps in recharging groundwater and it constitutes an important component in improved watershed management, with long-term vision of using land and water resources for higher productivity and sustainability. The Tamil Nadu Government has made an earnest but stern effort by legislating the rainwater-harvesting mandatory in public and private buildings. Water harvesting has been assigned top-most priority especially in the rainfed areas to promote diversification and intensification of agriculture with an added advantage of safeguarding farmers against frequent drought.

Recognizing the pivotal role of irrigation in augmenting agricultural production, about 90 million hectares of irrigation potential including major, medium and minor projects has been created. The country has 59 million ha of net area irrigated accounting for 21.5% of the total irrigated area (274 million ha) in the world. Approximately 38% of the total cropped area is irrigated with 134% cropping intensity. After harnessing all available water resources an ultimate irrigation potential of 139 million ha is contemplated. However, the faulty irrigation management practices reduce the irrigation efficiency by 30-40%. The water is being wasted in storage, conveyance and delivery. The traditional concept of “more the water higher the crop yields” still persists with a majority of cultivators.

Judicious use of irrigation water is essential to harness the benefits of Green Revolution for a long period of time. The “Micro-irrigation Method” is not merely an irrigation technology, it is an integrated management tool in the hands of the farmer. In addition to the water savings, other consequential benefits of this technology far outweigh its own principal advantage. In Micro-water Irrigation Systems (MIS), water is applied to the root zone at slow speed under low pressure and measured rate. This process saturates the effective root zone and assists banana, citrus and tomato plants to yield higher by 50% in comparison to flood irrigation with water saving of 40-60%. On an outset, it is clear that agricultural growth and development is sustainable only when we choose to use the costly limited water and land resources with the help of modern science and technology without losing the sight of traditional watershed and water harvesting practices.

Natural Resource Management through GIS

Increasing crop production requires bringing more area under agriculture, increasing cropping intensity and productivity. Such an effort requires identification and delineation of culturable wastelands, increasing irrigation potential and optimal management of judicious use of land and water resources. In this context, comprehensive and reliable information on land use, wastelands, area under agricultural crops, water resources, hazard or natural calamities such as drought and flooding are essential in order to make précised and quick decisions. In short span of three decades, space borne remote sensing has

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emerged as a front running provider of information required for many agricultural and allied activities. The utility of geographical information system (GIS) is percolating down to the grass root level to take farming decisions at the micro-level. The data generated from the GIS is widely used by the policy makers to take accurate decisions.

Integrated Nutrient Management

Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) refers to the maintenance of soil fertility and plant nutrient supply to an optimum level for sustaining the desirable level of crop productivity through the concomitant use of organic, inorganic and biofertilizer inputs. Fertilizer application has significantly contributed for the enhanced grain production in the country. In the past fifty years, the fertilizer consumption has increased by 6 times from 3 (1950) to 18 million tonnes (2000) that commensurate with four-fold increase in food grain output. It has been observed that the indiscriminate use of nitrogenous fertilizers appears to affect the quality of crops through nitrate pollution in the groundwater. Further, the use of high analysis fertilizers with exclusion of micronutrients in intensive cropping systems has caused deficiencies of micronutrients. It has been reported that the occurrence of micronutrients deficiencies to an extent of 46%, 9%, 5% and 4%, Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, respectively (Singh and Saha, 1995). Correction of micronutrient disorders is needed for sustainable farm production.

A holistic approach is to be adopted in order to maintain the balance between the crop removal and addition of fertilizers. Balanced fertilizer application is imperative for sustained productivity. In India, the problem is compounded by imbalanced fertilizer use, leading to widening of NPK ratio from 5.9: 2.4: 1 in 1991-92 to 10: 2.9: 1 in 1996-97 as against the optimum ratio of 4 : 2: 1 (Yadav, 2002). Most of Indian soils are deficient but excessive use of N alone fails to produce sustainable yields over a long period. Achieving balance between the nutrient requirements of crops and the nutrient reserves in the soils is essential for maintaining high yields and soil fertility, preventing environmental contaminations and sustaining agricultural productions over the long-term.

The decline in crop yields due to continuous use of inorganic fertilizers has been observed throughout the world. Therefore increasing need is being felt to integrate nutrient supply with organic sources to restore the soil health. Biofertilizers offer an economically attractive and ecologically sound means of reducing external inputs and improving the quality and quantity of internal resources. These are inputs containing microorganisms that are mobilizing nutrients from non-usable to usable through biological processes. The beneficial microbes include N fixers, P solubilizers and mycorrhizas that could be able to save inorganic sources of nutrients by 25-30% with an additional benefit of environmental safety. Harnessing earthworms as versatile bioreactors to convert biodegradable organic wastes into useful manures is referred as vermicompost. The vermicompost is enriched organic manure carrying all the

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essential nutrients and growth hormone required by crops. Application of vermicompost @ 5 t ha-1 found to improve soil physico-chemical properties thereby enhancing farm production. Therefore substitution organic and biomanures are essential to improve the crop productivity and to circumvent the ill-effects of over-use of inorganic fertilizers in agricultural production system.

Integrated Pest Management

Overexploitation of natural resources and excessive chemical pesticides use in agriculture has led to poor sustainability of farm production. In the year 2000-01, 50, 464 tonnes of pesticides have been used in agriculture and the quantity gets unabated in the years to come. Despite IPM package has been developed two decades ago, the adoption at the grass root level is far from desirable. India is cherished with a wide range of botanicals with pesticidal value. The neem “wonder tree” has enormous potential in offering protection against insect pests that has to be fully exploited. More than 1000 plant species are known to have insecticidal properties, 380 anti-feedant properties, 300 species are repellents and 30 species each possessing attractant and insect growth regulator properties. With a modern advent of biotechnology, resistant genes in wild species of crops plants have been employed. India’s consumption of bio-agents such as entomophages, botanicals, biopesticides and pheramones is less than 1% of the pesticide consumption compared to 12% globally. Use of pest avoidance tactics, enhancement of biological pest suppression and adoption of other non-chemical methods of pest management would certainly be able to solve pest problems and improve the competitiveness of Indian agriculture in International markets. Manipulation of agro-ecosystem should be made it to less favourable to the pests and more congenial atmosphere for the natural enemies to flare up to keep the pest population well below the threshold level.

The agro-ecosystem analysis and Farmers’ Field Schools (FFS) in IPM in the recent years by the State and Central government departments have been successful. The mission of National Agricultural Technology Project (NATP) by the ICAR has given much fillip to IPM. This ecofriendly technology is highly beneficial to small and marginal farmers and thus research and extension activities should continue to grow. The special training in IPM under the “Women in Agriculture Programme” assisted in the effective implementation of IPM technologies.

Post-harvest management

The post-harvest management practices are utmost important to improve the availability food for Indian population. As fruits and vegetables production is seasonal resulting in surplus during peak season and shortage in off-season. Post harvest losses are extremely high for horticultural crops especially fruits and vegetables due to improper handling, storage, marketing, processing and

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distribution systems. Despite the fact that India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables, per capita availability is lower due to post-harvest losses, accounts for more than 40-60% which can be saved if proper storage facilities are created. Unless the post-harvest loss is prevented, the marvelous achievement made in the production will be vitiated. The cost involved in the preventing the post-harvest losses is much lesser than the cost of production. Thus, there is a need for more sophisticated marketing mechanisms with improved grading, storage and transport ensuring minimal wastage. Hi-tech packaging and storage technologies available for fruits and vegetables include Modified Atmospheric Packaging (MAP), Controlled Atmospheric Packaging (CAP) and Modified Humidity Packaging (MP) that can be made usable by the producers in order to enhance the shelf-life of their produce. Zero-energy cool chambers working on the principle of evaporative cooling can be easily adoptable by small and marginal farmers.

2. NUTRIENT IMBALANCE IN INDIAN SOILS

In the past fifty years, the fertilizer consumption has increased exponentially by 6 times from 3 (1950) to 18 million tonnes (2000) that commensurate with four-fold increase in food grain output. It has been observed that the indiscriminate use of nitrogenous fertilizers appears to affect the quality of crops through nitrate pollution in the groundwater. A holistic approach is to be adopted in order to maintain the balance between the crop removal and addition of fertilizers. Balanced fertilizer application is imperative for sustained productivity. In India, the problem is compounded by imbalanced fertilizer use, leading to widening of NPK ratio from 5.9: 2.4: 1 in 1991-92 to 10: 2.9: 1 in 1996-97 as against the optimum ratio of 4 : 2: 1 (Yadav, 2002). Most of Indian soils are deficient but excessive use of N alone fails to produce sustainable yields over a long period. Achieving balance between the nutrient requirements of crops and the nutrient reserves in the soils is essential for maintaining high yields and soil fertility, preventing environmental contaminations and sustaining agricultural productions over the long-term.

The deterioration in soil health caused by imbalanced fertilization has truly reflected on the annual yield growth rate of several field crops that begin to stagnate over the past few years (Table 2). The data have shown that the decrease is annual yield growth rate of food grains from 3.33 to 1.42%, from 2.47 to 1.28% in the case of non-food grains and from 2.99 to 1.34% in case of all crops. Cotton registered even a negative growth rate. Despite the use of improved crop varieties and production technologies, the declining trend is as a consequence of the deceleration in total factor productivity. This is a serious concern in achieving targeted productions.

Table. 2: Average annual growth rate (%) in yield of major crops of IndiaCrops 1980 - 1990 1991 - 1999

Cereals 3.43 1.63

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Pulses 2.63 0.65Oilseeds 2.73 1.62Sugarcane 1.81 1.08Cotton 3.56 -0.47All Crops 2.99 1.34

(Swaminathan, 2000)

The statistics on soil deterioration in conjunction with stagnation in crop yields vividly suggest that there is an urgent need to bestow utmost importance to balanced fertilization to enable sustainable farm productivity. Plausible policies are to be orchestrated by both the Central and State governments to reduce further deterioration in soil quality.

Suggested Policies for the maintenance of soil nutrient balance

There are new developments in the mission to maintain soil nutrient balance that receive bountiful of appreciation from farmers, extension functionaries, scientists and students. The following technologies are to be popularized both by Central and State Governments.

Fertilizer subsidy to a specific fertilizer may be avoided. Decontrol of nitrogenous fertilizers especially for urea has triggered its excessive use in crop production with consequential groundwater pollution.

The organic status of most Indian soils has declined drastically due to continuous use of inorganic fertilizers. There is an urgent need to integrate nutrient supply with organic sources to restore the soil health. But the availability of organic manures (especially farm yard manure) is scarce in many pockets of the nation that can be fulfilled by alternate sources of organic manures such as vermicompost, composted coir wastes and farm wastes may be encouraged.

Research on farm level nutrient balance studies has to undertaken in order to assess the emerging trends in nutrient deficiencies or toxicities in agro-ecosystems. The NUTMON tool box which is a computer software that can generate nutrient balance to determine the nutrient inflow and outflow in micro-level farming situations as well as regional and national scale. The outcome of this research programme will be useful for policy makers to plan for a sustainable nutrient management.

Appropriate computer-aided decision support system can be lavishly used for scientific fertilizer prescription in the mission of soil fertility management. The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Department of Soil Science in Coimbatore, has developed a computer assisted Decision Support System for Integrated Fertilizer Management

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(DSSIFER). The DSSIFER is an effective tool to provide fertilizer prescription, ameliorative measures for problem soil management and other improved agronomic practices for cultivation of crops.

Suitable Government policies must be evolved to distribute Soil Health Card (SHC) nation-wide to the farmers for use. The SHC is similar to the ration card of a farm family who can make entries of the nutrient management practices in the card on a regular basis to enable them to identify the production constraints and take up suitable actions for sustainable farming.

Encourage farmers to adopt Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) practices to the maintain soil fertility and plant nutrient supply to an optimum level for sustaining the desirable level of crop productivity through the concomitant use of inorganic, organic and biofertilizer inputs.

Biofertilizers offer an economically attractive and ecologically sound means of reducing external inputs and improving the quality and quantity of internal resources. These are bioinputs that are mobilizing nutrients from non-usable to usable through biological processes. The beneficial microbes include N fixers, P solubilizers and mycorrhizas that could be able to save inorganic sources of nutrients by 25-30% with an additional benefit of environmental safety.

Research priorities should include developing recommendations and technologies for fertilizer and organic matter management for specific soils, climate and crops as part of precision agriculture.

. 3. MICRONUTRIENT STATUS OF INDIAN SOILS

In India, the continuous cultivation of crops with high analysis straight fertilizers has pronounced a sharp decline in availability of micronutrients in soils and this associated with a reduction in nutritional qualities of agricultural produce and crop yields (Anon, 2003). It has been reported that the occurrence of micronutrients deficiencies in Indian soils to an extent of 46%, 9%, 5% and 4%, Zn, Fe, Cu and Mn, respectively (Singh and Saha, 1995). Consequently, both the production and consumption of micronutrients have increased by 30% in three years during 1999 - 2001. Correction of micronutrient disorders is gaining importance and of utmost need for sustainable farm production. Among the micronutrients, Zn appears to be deficient in most soils in India at varying intensities with the exception of acidic soil regions where the Zn status is at the moderate level. The inherent ability of the soil to supply boron and sulphur is at the declining trend and requires replenishment. Augmentation or restoration of lost soil fertility and productivity can be achieved only through addition of

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micronutrient fertilizers and mobilization of their residual effect through proper nutrient cycling. The applied micronutrient in the soil is often unavailable to the crop plants due heavy fixation in soils. Consequently, the micronutrient use efficiency by plants is extremely lower. To make the situation more complex, multiple micronutrient deficiencies are more prevalent than as a single nutrient deficiency.

The response to soil application of micronutrients is vividly indicated in field experiments conducted at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore Centre of the ICAR-Micronutrient Scheme in the past four decades. The data have shown that Zn application has enhanced the yield of rice, pulses, millets, oilseeds and turmeric to the tune of 25%, 20%, 16.7%, 17.3% and 14.4%, respectively. The response to added Zn is often associated with deficiencies below its critical levels in soils. Thus, addition of Zn is imperative in order to maintain crop yields in various production systems. Next to the Zn, Fe application appears to promote yields of millets and sugarcane by 30% and 40% respectively. The deficiency of Fe is often associated with lime status. As millets and sugarcane are quite sensitive to Fe, they exhibit interveinal chlorosis as a consequence of calcium induced Fe deficiency. In addition to the soil application, foliar sprays were found to correct nutrient disorders in crop plants. The response was more pronounced for pulses than other crops. In addition, pulses have responded favourably to foliar spray of Mn and Mo. On an out set , micronutrient fertilization contributes towards the crop yields to the tune of 10-20% depending on the severity of micronutrient deficiencies.

Suggested policies in micronutrient management

Delineation of micronutrient deficiencies in India should be done to create a database as a reference tool for policy making. The ICAR has 15 micronutrient centres of which Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, is one of the oldest Centres carrying out micronutrient research for the past 40 years. The data from various centres can be used to develop database on micronutrient status of Indian soils. The GIS technology may be employed to map the micronutrient deficient regions at the micro and macro levels.

Popularization of computer-assisted software for the identification nutrient disorders in crop plants should be taken up all levels. The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Department of Soil Science, Coimbatore, has developed an innovative computer aided Visual Diagnostic Kit (VDK) that can be used for the identification of nutrient deficiencies and to derive suitable remedial measures. Besides it is a user-friendly tool for the farmers, students, researchers and extension workers to precisely identify nutrient disorders in crop plants.

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Research on multi-micronutrient product formulations including chelating compounds has to be carried out in various cropping situations. This may be an effective technology to ameliorate multi-micronutrient deficiencies and sustain farm production.

Studies on economizing micronutrient use through seed pelleting and foliar sprays may be taken. As the utilization of micronutrients by plants is relatively smaller these agro-techniques may be useful in curtailing costs with an added benefit of highest rate of use efficiency.

4. ORGANIC FARMING

In India, there are also efforts to return back to the organic agriculture in order to improve the quality of food production and to promote nutritional security and ensure sustainability. It’s the concept of “Merry Go Around”. Organic production system largely excludes the use of synthetically compound fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators and livestock feed additives. To the extent possible, organic farming rely on crop rotation, crop residues, animal manures, biofertilizers, botanicals and biopesticides to maintain soil productivity and tilth, to supply plant nutrients and to control weeds and pests. The organic agricultural products fetched US $ 17 billion in the global market in the year 2000 that is likely to double in five years reaching a figure of US $ 31 billion in 2005. Over 50% of the global share comes from the USA that gains $ 8 billion through the sale of organic produce. Inside this market place, India’s share is meager 0.001%. India is ranking 75th position in the global organic agriculture scenario. Why there is a vertical shift required from inorganic to organic? The Indian agriculture is beginning to show a sign of yield stabilization, imbalance in soil nutrient status, loss of nutritional security and livelihood of people. India’s organic production has touched 14,000 tonnes in 2002, of which 11,000 tonnes had been exported. The exported organic produce includes coffee, tea, rice, wheat, pulses, oilseeds, fruits, vegetables, cotton and herbal extracts. India is a highly bidiversified country producing a wide array of oriental vegetables and fruits that has greater export market potential. Organic farming is essential to promote export-oriented agriculture and stimulate livelihood of the farming communities.

The organic farming in relation of food security of India is yet to be established. The primary concern for any Government is to meet the food requirement of the people and to ensure hunger free situation in any nation. To maintain current rate of food grain production in India without chemical fertilizer input, additional area has to be brought under cultivation that is hardly possible to achieve (Chhonkar, 2003). Almost all long-term fertilizer experiments conducted by ICAR centres in the country have vividly demonstrated that the integration of organics and inorganics can produce reasonably higher yields and maintain soil fertility. Despite organics are indispensable in agricultural production system, the realization of its fullest potential is yet to be seen in sustainable grain productivity.

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Suggested policies in organic farming

Policy initiatives are required to demonstrate at the commercial scale that how best the organic agriculture can minimize or eliminate usage of chemicals and costs involved in agricultural production systems.

Efforts are to be geared up to enhance the availability of non-conventional (coir waste compost and vermicompost) and conventional (green manure) sources of organics.

Intense research is necessary to unequivocally prove the nutrient utilization pattern and quality improvement in organically grown agricultural produce.

Research on organic production package for exportable crops such as

sugarcane, fruits, vegetables and medicinal plants is very much required

Organic certification centres have to be established in various export zones with a complete set of administrative and analytical facilities as is the one in Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore.

Laws and legislation should be in place to monitor the organic production and marketing of agricultural produce

CONCLUSIONS

The soil degradation is increasing at the alarming proportion and needs to be circumvented to sustain agricultural production in India. Among various factors responsible for soil degradation, erosion appears to be the first and deserves governmental and non-governmental agencies to take immediate steps to minimize the hazard. Currently, several policies are in place without much impact at the large scale. Maintenance of soil nutrient status may be possible by adopting recently developed innovative site-specific nutrient management approaches. Micronutrient fertilization seems to contribute one-fifth of the total agricultural output deserves much more significance in the years to come. Timely identification and ameliorative measures are required to minimize the loss in crop productivity. Organic movement is gaining momentum in India and its applicability is more rationale and reasonable for export oriented agriculture. Sustainability in food security in relation to organic farming is yet to be established.

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REFERENCES

Chhonkar, P.K. (2003) Organic farming : Science and belief. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci. 51: 365-377.

Singh, M.V. and Saha, J.K. (1995) Twenty sixth progress report of the All India Co-ordinated Scheme of Micro- and Secondary Nutrients and Polluted elements in the Soils and Plants. Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal.

Swaminathan, M.S. (2000) Inaugural address at the International Conference on managing Natural Resources for Sustainable Agricultural Production in the 21st Century, New Delhi .

Yadav, J.S.P. (2002) Agricultural resource management in India - The challenges. J. Agric. Resource Management. 1: 61-69.

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