In One Of India's Top Agriculture Producers, Most Soil Testing Labs Defunct

The lack of information on the soil does not just hurt farmers, but consumers too.

The Madhya Pradesh government had promised to double farmer incomes and its longest-serving chief minister is now the Union agriculture minister, but most of the soil testing facilities in the state are either shut or functioning way below capacity, leaving farmers without crucial information on what crops they should plant.

The lack of information does not just hurt farmers by leaving them without any data on what nutrients are lacking in the soil of the farm - which is needed to decide on the type and quantity of fertilisers - but also consumers, who can't be sure whether the produce they are eating is actually nutrient dense.

The central government had launched the Soil Health Card scheme in 2015 to address soil nutrient deficiencies, and Madhya Pradesh promised comprehensive soil testing services, including mobile laboratories for every village. Although there are 263 soil testing labs across 313 blocks in the state, the facilities, established at a cost of over Rs 150 crore, are largely non-functional.