Growth Trends in Soil Fertility Status and Agricultural Extension Services: A Secondary Data-based Analysis

Abstract

Sustained agricultural productivity depends critically on the maintenance of soil fertility, yet decades of intensive, often nutrient-imbalanced cultivation have altered the macro-, secondary- and micronutrient status of Indian agricultural soils in ways that are not always adequately tracked or addressed through extension outreach. This study employs a secondary data approach to analyse growth trends in (i) the reported fertility status of Indian soils with respect to macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium), secondary nutrients (sulphur) and micronutrients (zinc, boron, iron, copper, manganese), and (ii) the parallel expansion of soil-testing-linked agricultural extension services, principally the Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme and the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) network, over the period 2015 to 2025. Data were compiled from nationwide soil-testing surveys, official Soil Health Card scheme records, and peer-reviewed secondary-data studies. Results show that secondary and micronutrient deficiencies remain widespread and, for several nutrients, more extensive than historical estimates suggested: nationwide analysis of over 240,000 soil samples across 615 districts found 58.6% of soils deficient in sulphur, 51.2% in zinc, 44.7% in boron, 19.2% in iron, 17.4% in manganese and 11.4% in copper. Macronutrient imbalance also persists, with fertiliser nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium (N:P:K) consumption ratios of 8:4:1 in 2019 and 5:1.8:1 in 2023, both skewed relative to the agronomically recommended 4:2:1 ratio. In parallel, the Soil Health Card scheme has expanded rapidly since its 2015 launch, issuing 107.4 million cards in Cycle I (2015-17), a cumulative total exceeding 227 million by the end of Cycle II (2017-19), and over 250 million cards by mid-2025, supported by a soil-testing infrastructure that has grown from under 4,000 to more than 8,000 laboratories. Despite this substantial institutional expansion, independent assessment attributes only modest, though meaningful, improvements in farmer fertiliser practice - an estimated 8-10% reduction in fertiliser consumption and 5-6% yield gains among adopting farmers - indicating that growth in testing infrastructure and card distribution has outpaced measurable improvement in aggregate soil fertility indicators and balanced nutrient use. The study concludes that closing this gap will require extension strategies that move beyond card distribution toward sustained, crop- and nutrient-specific farmer advisory support, particularly for the secondary and micronutrient deficiencies that remain most severe and least addressed.