Soil Health Card now digital – get accurate field soil reports in minutes! know how

The Soil Health Card Scheme aims to provide every farmer with a Soil Health Card, enabling them to understand their soil’s nutrient status and apply fertilizers in the right proportion to maintain soil fertility and health.

The Soil Health Card Portal (https://www.soilhealth.dac.gov.in/home) ensures that Soil Health Cards are issued in a standardized format across the country. These cards are available in all major languages and five regional dialects, making them accessible to farmers nationwide.

Soil Health Card – A Comprehensive Analysis of 12 Key Soil Parameters:

The Soil Health Card provides information on 12 essential soil nutrients and properties, including: Macronutrients: Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), and Sulfur (S), Micronutrients: Zinc (Zn), Iron (Fe), Copper (Cu), Manganese (Mn), and Boron (Bo), Other Soil Properties: pH Level (Acidity or Alkalinity), Electrical Conductivity (EC), and Organic Carbon (OC)
Based on this data, farmers receive fertilizer recommendations and soil improvement guidelines. Soil samples are generally collected twice a year, after the harvest of Rabi and Kharif crops, or when the field is vacant.

School Soil Health Programme:

1. To raise awareness about soil health among students, the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) has launched the School Soil Health Programme in collaboration with the Department of School Education & Literacy (DSE&L), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and State Governments.
2. Under this initiative, 20 rural schools (10 Kendriya Vidyalayas and 10 Navodaya Vidyalayas) have set up soil health laboratories, where:
3. Special training modules have been developed for students (Class 6-12) and teachers.
4. Students collect and analyze soil samples and generate Soil Health Cards.
5. Students educate farmers on the importance of Soil Health Cards and the balanced use of fertilizers. 
6. As of 2024, the programme has expanded to 1,020 schools, with 1,000 soil testing labs established and 125,972 students enrolled.

Technological Advancements - Soil Health Card Mobile App:

To ensure easier access to Soil Health Cards, the Government of India upgraded the scheme with advanced technological features in 2023:
Integration with Geographic Information System (GIS) to enable visualization of soil test results on digital maps.

Development of a Mobile App with key features, including: 

1. Automated region selection for soil sample collection
2. Automatic latitude-longitude capture of sample location
3. QR code generation, allowing test results to be uploaded directly to the portal without manual intervention. 
4. Graphical representation of India’s map, displaying State, District, Taluka, Panchayat, and farmland boundaries.
5. To support digital transformation, the National Informatics Centre (NIC) has developed a web-based workflow application for digitizing Soil Health Cards, ensuring that farmers receive quick and accurate information about their soil.