Vijay Garg The friable and pliable substance above the soil ensures life on our earth by germinating seeds and bearing roots. In today’s era, it is a strong enabler of ensuring food availability for eight billion people, balancing the deteriorating ecosystem and mitigating the climate crisis to a great extent. But today the existence of nutritious soil for animals itself is in serious danger. Large-scale soil erosion is not only affecting agricultural yields and food security,Rather, it is making the problem of climate change more widespread and complex. With soil degradation, the loss of productivity is gradually increasing; apart from pollution, its scope is also expanding silently due to modern agricultural methods. Degradation of soil quality, accumulation of salt and contamination with toxic chemicals, and decline in crop production come under the ambit of soil erosion. Soil erosion is usually caused by indiscriminate use of existing chemicals (including fertilizers and toxic pesticides), widespread change in traditional land use, deforestation, floods, etc., from drought, waterlogging and climate change. It arises due to reasons like temperature etc. India is an agricultural country, where farming is still the source of livelihood for most of the people. Soil is the backbone of the world’s second largest agricultural system spread over an area of 10 lakh 78 thousand square kilometers. The deepening crisis of soil erosion is not only affecting the production, but in the era of climate change, it is causing many problems, which mainly include ecological imbalance. National Bureau of Soil SurveyAccording to this, about one-third of the soil in India, i.e. about 12 crore hectares, is subject to soil erosion, a significant part of which is affected by ocean salinization. Despite large-scale soil degradation, technology-based intensive agriculture led to increased yields and India is now the second largest producer of agricultural produce. It is self-sufficient in food production. But due to large-scale soil erosion during floods and construction work, accumulation of salinity due to extensive use of chemical fertilizers, increasing acidity and waterlogging etc.A large part of the cultivable land is becoming barren. If soil erosion continues, we may have to import food in the coming years, whereas India, with only 2.4 percent of the world’s land area, is capable of feeding 18 percent of the world’s population. Apart from uncontrolled farming, widespread change in land use due to large-scale urbanization and industrialization is also responsible for soil erosion. Along with this, India is also the largest country in terms of number of cattle. During their grazing the upper part of the groundDue to removal of vegetation, the upper layer of soil becomes weak and it becomes victim of erosion due to rain and wind. India is the world’s largest country in terms of population and agriculture is under constant pressure to produce the food grains required to feed one and a half billion people. Also a large part of the production is wasted due to maintenance and inefficient management. All this ultimately affects the soil. After independence, keeping in mind the increasing need of food grains and dependence on foreign countries for food grains, the project of Green Revolution was implemented.It was based mainly on artificial irrigation, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and hybrid seeds, the main goal of which was to produce more and more grains. In this effort, soil fertility took a back seat. More and more grains started being produced by continuously growing the same type of crop, due to which the natural nutrients present in the soil started decreasing. Due to indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers to maintain its fertility, the microorganisms and organic matter present in the soil got destroyed. Currently up to 94 percent in agricultural workChemical fertilizers are used. Even excessive use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers made our fields and crops poisonous. During the Green Revolution, our grain production increased from 50 million tonnes to 300 million tonnes, but this achievement appears to have been achieved at the cost of fertile soil. In such a situation, rapid soil erosion can cause a serious food security crisis for India’s growing population. Soil erosion not only results in reduction in productivity but also reduces the naturally occurring carbohydrates in it.Due to reduction in the quantity of water, its ability to absorb and retain water also reduces to a great extent. As a result, water recharge from water sources reduces significantly, which is reflected in large-scale depletion of groundwater levels and increasing problem of drought in India. Water levels in Haryana and Punjab, India’s largest grain producers, have fallen dangerously low. , The rich and fertile soil keeps agriculture-based India safe from global economic fluctuations. That is why in the last few decades large-scale Even in the global recession, the Indian economy continued to grow rapidly with little impact. In today’s era, fertile soil is not only necessary for filling the stomach for a country like India, but is also the pivot of the economy. In such a situation, there is a need to bring back the fertility of the soil in a natural way. This will require us to restore the physical, chemical and biological health of the soil, which is a long and complex, but possible process. There will be a need to restore the organicity of the soil which has become fertile by losing its organic elements i.e. carbon. now Only six percent of the total fertilizers being used are fertilizers from organic sources. Need . The aim is to reduce dependence on chemical fertilizers and encourage farming based on organic fertilizers. However, this involves the possibility of reduction in food grain production. In India There has been a rich nature-centred agricultural tradition, based on the harmony of soil capacity, weather and water availability. It should be revived. The crisis of soil and water has reached our plates through our fields. In such a situation, this terrible There is no other option but to take cognizance of the problem and make efforts at the government, society and individual level.
