The soil movement started in the Indian state of Odisha two-and-half years ago through the ICRISAT-led Bhoochetana project crossed an important milestone with the launch of a soil atlas and two modern soil testing laboratories of international standard. Dr Arun Kumar Sahoo, the State Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, did the honors virtually.

1. World Soil Day celebrations
Soil atlas and two modern state referral labs launched
through ICRISAT-led Bhoochetana project in Odisha, India
The soil movement started in the
Indian state of Odisha two-and-
half years ago through the ICRISAT-led
Bhoochetana project crossed an
important milestone with the launch
of a soil atlas and two modern soil
testing laboratories of international
standard. Dr Arun Kumar Sahoo, the
State Minister of Agriculture and
Farmers’ Empowerment, did the
honors virtually.
In keeping with the theme of this
year’s World Soil Day – ‘Keep soil alive,
protect soil biodiversity’, Dr Sahoo,
speaking in Odia, drew attention to
the Indian ethos of referring to the
earth as ‘mother’ – the progenitor of
life and respect towards all living creatures. He gave
examples from rural traditions to illustrate the respect to
mother earth. He spoke at length on the opportunities
and challenges in sustainable management of soil and the
various initiatives taken by the government.
Dr Jacqueline Hughes, Director General, ICRISAT,
congratulated the state leadership and expressed
happiness at the progress made. Referring to Dr Pawan
Kumar Agarwal, Vice Chancellor, OUAT, and his thoughts
on nano fertilization, pesticide application and use of
robotics and artificial intelligence on precision farms, Dr
Hughes said that new technologies have a huge role to
play in future farming and the modern soil labs are a
step in that direction, equipping the state to meet
international standards. She emphasized on the
quantum of work done in all the 30 districts in the state.
More than 40,000 samples were analyzed based on
which Soil Health Cards were given to farmers,
development of Soil Health Maps, publication of the Soil
Atlas, distribution of Tablets and the two state soil labs,
one each at Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur upgraded with
state-of-the-art equipment and trained staff.
Participating in the discussions, Dr Arabinda Kumar
Padhee, Director, Country Relations, ICRISAT, commended
on the impressive progress made by Odisha in the
agriculture sector, nearly doubling its agricultural GDP in
real terms between 2000-01 and 2016-17, clocking an
annual growth rate of about 4.5 per cent against the
national average of 3.1 per cent. Whilst soil nutrients are
important, soil carbon is equally critical and it is
important to sustain soil biodiversity, he said. Referring
to ICRISAT’s expertise in improving soil nutrition by
intercropping with legumes, he said that growing short-
duration pulses in rice fallows and the many such
techniques not only raise the productivity of pulses but
also the soil nutrient profile. He spoke of the Odisha
Millets Mission and said that it was a successful example
with the potential to scale out to other crops. ICRISAT is
ready to partner with the Government of Odisha for
science-led agricultural development, Dr Padhee said.
Talking of the way forward, Dr Sreenath Dixit, Head of
ICRISAT Development Center stressed on the need for
policy interventions to bridge the value chain gap to
improve farmers’ access to fertilizers and strategize on
acid soil amendment as such soils restrict plant nutrient
uptake. He said that farmers who have followed the soil
health recommendations had seen a yield increase in the
range of 20-60% and these benefits need to be sustained.
The web event held on December 5 was marked by
forward-looking discussions and had top officials from
Odisha’s Department of Agriculture and Farmer’s
Empowerment and several academicians in attendance.
The participants included Mr Suresh Kumar Vashisht,
Special Secretary; Dr Saurabh Garg, Principle Secretary;
Mr Raj Kumar Sharma, Agricultural Production
Commissioner; Dr M Muthu Kumar, Director of of
Agriculture and Food Production and scientists of Odisha
University of Agriculture and Technology and National
Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, Odisha.
Reported by Jemima Mandapati
Dr Arun Kumar Sahoo, Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, Odisha
State, India, released the Soil Atlas published by ICRISAT on World Soil Day 2020.
Virtual meets
Photo: ICRISAT
NewsletterHappenings
In-house version 11 December 2020, No.1884