Evaluation of Soil Health Card Scheme on Productivity & Income Generation of Wheat in Kymore Plateau Region

Abstract

An attempt has been made to analyze the impact of Soil Health Card Scheme (SHC) on productivity, fertilizer consumption, and farmers’ income in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh. The data were gathered from 66 SHC holders, and the impact of SHC was assessed based on the farmers’ use of SHC. It was observed from the study that the majority of farmers have a positive opinion regarding SHCs. They were found to have reduced the use of urea, DAP and MOP and increased the SSP, and organic manure in cultivation of wheat after adoption of the SHC recommendations. Due to Soil Test Value (STV) based nutrient application net income increased by 9.38 per cent after adoption of SHC. The benefit-cost ratio revealed that for an investment of ₹ 1.00, an average SHC holder received a return of ₹ 1.98 in wheat cultivation. The SHC Scheme is highly beneficial to the farmers in terms of increasing crop production and farmer’s income. However, there is a need to generate awareness about the benefits of this Scheme in terms of cost saving through STV based nutrient application among the farmers and strengthen soil testing services / laboratories for a wider adoption of SHC recommendations.