Sujala III is providing soil health cards to farmers for better crop production since this January 2019 at zero cost. Until now 2400 cards have been distributed.
After the completion of land mapping, the new soil health card called Land Reservation Inventory (LRI) and Digital Supporting System (DSS) apps are provided to farmers. The additional information will help farmers decide the best crop depending on the condition of the soil and this in return helps in better quality production of crops.
Yakub Jatti, a progressive farmer from Bijapur district says, “The yield is more now. No maintenance charge is to be given for the standard pesticides like before. Here, in Vijayapura, Bijapur we grow grapes and raisins. We are under SujalaIII scheme since a year and now we are getting good quality growth of crops. At least each farmer has an additional income of Rs 50,000 to Rs One lakh. We also get better suggestion on what to spray.”
These LRI cards will help farmers get better yield as the crops will be planted depending on the nutrient status and moisture content in the soil. Sujala III also promises to help them in business, creating marketing linkages so that farmer’s join the Farmer Producing Committee’s (FPO) interact with the traders helping them income is improved.
Navya Yadav. P the Project Co-Ordinator of Sujala III says, “It is a satellite based study conducted on soil health. Based on the soil health recommendation, we approach the farmers; we convince and instruct them what to grow and what are the measures needed for the soil management.”
A report by the Horticulture Department showed that, The scheme has so far benefitted 48,457 farmers. More than 50,000 cards are to be prepared this year. The scheme spans 11 districts in North Karnataka including Bijapur, Yadgir, Bagalkot, Koppal, Raichur, Tumkur, Chamrajnagar, Dharwar, and Shivamogga.
Professor of Soil Sciences and Agricultural Chemistry Mr T. Chinkarammapppa at The University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore stated, “To avoid the crops to die. The LRI card is indicated. The department and state officials and stakeholders are providing the technology to the farming community which is beneficial.”
Therefore, slowly implementation is taking place for the betterment of farmers.
