Soil Health Crisis in India: Need to Reform Fertiliser Policy

27 Oct 2026

Tags: Environment   Conservation   Environmental degradation

Source: The Indian Express

Context: Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched the iKhet Bachao Abhiyan (Save the Farm Campaign) on October 22 in Karnal, Haryana, urging farmers to adopt balanced fertiliser use during the rabi season.

• Core issue: Distorted fertiliser pricing encourages excessive nitrogen use and inadequate phosphorus and potassium application, damaging soil health, groundwater and the environment.

Imbalanced Fertiliser Use in India

• ICRIER study: A policy brief comparing nutrient application across 20 major States during 2009–10 to 2024–25 found worsening nutrient imbalance despite the introduction of the Nutrient-Based Subsidy (NBS) policy in 2010.
• Nutrient application trends: Nitrogen use shifted from 7% below recommended levels to 6% above them; the phosphorus deficit narrowed from 29% to 22%, while the potassium deficit widened from 48% to 72%.
• Potassium deficiency: Farmers apply around 9 kg of potash per hectare, against a recommended requirement of 32 kg.
• N:P:K ratio: India's actual ratio is 10.5:4.1:1, compared with the recommended ratio of 2.8:1.5:1 cited in the study.
• State-level imbalance: Eleven of the 20 States studied overuse nitrogen, led by Jharkhand (72%) and Punjab (65%). All 20 under-apply potassium; Haryana and Jharkhand apply barely one-tenth of the recommended quantity.

Why Has Fertiliser Policy Failed?

• Unequal pricing incentives: Under NBS, prices of phosphatic and potassic fertilisers respond more to market conditions, while urea remains heavily subsidised at a controlled price.
• Price divergence: Between 2010–11 and 2024–25, DAP prices nearly tripled to ₹54/kg and MOP prices increased six-fold to ₹52/kg, while the price of nitrogen in urea rose by only 1%.
• Farmer behaviour: Cheap urea encourages excessive nitrogen application. Its immediate visible effect—greener crops—also makes overuse more attractive, while potassium deficiency often produces less visible damage.
• Cropping pattern and subsidies: Minimum Support Price (MSP)-based procurement and subsidised electricity reinforce the rice–wheat cropping cycle in States such as Punjab and Haryana, contributing to groundwater depletion and nutrient imbalance.

Impact on Soil, Environment and Human Health

• Soil degradation: Of the 96 lakh soil samples tested under the Soil Health Card scheme in 2025–26, the article reports deficiencies in nitrogen (41%), organic carbon (52%), boron (42%) and zinc (37%). Excess nitrogen application can coexist with nitrogen deficiency where soils lack organic carbon and nutrients are poorly retained.
• Low nutrient-use efficiency: Crops absorb only around 30–40% of applied nitrogen; much of the remainder is lost through volatilisation, leaching and other pathways.
• Climate impact: Some nitrogen escapes as nitrous oxide (N₂O), a greenhouse gas with approximately 273 times the global-warming potential of carbon dioxide over 100 years. Punjab's fertiliser-related emissions are nearly twice the national average, according to the article.
• Groundwater pollution: Nitrate concentrations above safe limits have been detected in parts of 502 districts, posing risks including blue baby syndrome (methaemoglobinaemia) in infants and other health problems.
• Crop productivity and nutrition: Potassium deficiency reduces drought and disease resistance and grain quality; phosphorus deficiency delays flowering. Zinc and other micronutrient deficiencies can also reduce the nutritional quality of food, contributing to hidden hunger.

Fiscal Burden and Unequal Benefits

• Subsidy expenditure: The fertiliser subsidy budget for 2026–27 is ₹1.71 lakh crore. Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz could raise the bill to ₹2.5–3 lakh crore, with urea accounting for around two-thirds of the projected amount, as estimated in the article.
• Unequal distribution: Punjab receives approximately ₹25,700 per hectare in nitrogen subsidy, around ten times the amount received by Kerala, reflecting differences in fertiliser use and cropping patterns.
• Fiscal concern: Excessive dependence on subsidised urea imposes a substantial burden on public finances without ensuring balanced nutrient application.

Four Steps to Improve Soil Health

1. Reform fertiliser subsidies: Shift from input-price subsidies towards a direct benefit transfer (DBT) per hectare, designed to be neutral across nutrients and crops. AgriStack's digital farmer IDs linked to land records and a fertiliser-sale framework could support implementation, although identifying tenant farmers remains a challenge. A gradual alternative is to bring urea under NBS while reducing DAP and MOP prices, keeping the total subsidy budget near ₹2 lakh crore.
2. Reward balanced nutrient use: Reform and expedite PM-PRANAM (Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth), which aims to incentivise States to reduce chemical fertiliser consumption. Payments should reward genuine progress towards balanced fertilisation rather than merely lower fertiliser use.
3. Invest in efficient technologies: Redirect subsidy savings towards drip irrigation, fertigation (applying fertilisers through irrigation systems), customised and coated fertilisers, biofertilisers, nano-fertilisers, triple super phosphate (TSP) as an alternative to DAP where appropriate, and seeds that use nitrogen more efficiently.
4. Adopt the 4Rs of nutrient management: Apply the Right source, Right rate, Right time and Right place, guided by plot-level soil testing. Crop rotation involving cereals and pulses can reduce the subsequent crop's nitrogen requirement by approximately 20–30%. Reforming electricity pricing and procurement incentives is also necessary to diversify cropping patterns in Punjab and Haryana.

Additional UPSC-Relevant Information

• Nutrient-Based Subsidy (NBS): Introduced in 2010 for phosphatic and potassic fertilisers, it links subsidy rates to nutrient content. Urea remains outside this framework, contributing to relative price distortions.
• Soil Health Card Scheme: Launched in 2015, it provides farmers with soil-test-based information on nutrient status and fertiliser recommendations.
• PM-PRANAM: Approved in 2023, the scheme seeks to encourage States and Union Territories to reduce chemical fertiliser use and promote sustainable alternatives.
• AgriStack: A Digital Public Infrastructure initiative for agriculture that aims to build digital farmer identities and link agricultural datasets to improve service delivery. Land-record integration must account for tenant farmers and cultivators without formal ownership records.

Way Forward

• Change the performance metric: Evaluate fertiliser policy by balanced nutrient availability, soil organic carbon, crop productivity and environmental outcomes—not merely the total quantity of fertiliser applied.
• Align agricultural incentives: Gradually reform urea pricing, electricity subsidies and MSP-based procurement to encourage crop diversification and reduce pressure on groundwater.
• Strengthen soil-based recommendations: Expand soil testing and deliver crop-, plot- and irrigation-specific advice through agricultural universities and extension services.
• Ensure a just transition: Protect small and tenant farmers from sudden increases in input costs while encouraging efficient fertiliser use.

Conclusion: India's soil health crisis is not simply a problem of excessive fertiliser use; it reflects distorted prices, imbalanced nutrient application and incentives that favour resource-intensive cropping patterns. Reforming subsidies alongside soil-based nutrient management, technological innovation and crop diversification is essential to protect long-term agricultural productivity and food security.