The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is concerned about the quality of soil in the country and to counter this it is contemplating to give farmers compact handheld soil testing machines so that they can themselves do soil testing. The whole process will be overlooked by Niti Aayog.
According to senior government official speaking to Economic Times, the device will not only assist farmers in testing the soil quality but will also suggest measures of improving the quality of soil.
This is also a huge opportunity for compact handheld soil testing machine manufacturers in the country. Just read these numbers. The government’s target is to test 2.5 crore soil samples, but till May 2016, only 28.7 per cent has been achieved. Now if the government plans to arm all farmers with soil testing machines, the demand for these machines will sky rocket.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched a project to hand over soil cards to farmers last year February. Till date only 1.8 crore or 13 per cent of the targeted 14 crore soil health cards have been issued.
The government feels that if they can provide these devices to the farmers it will become a big relief as farmers will be able to know how they can improve the quality of soil.
By Atanu Kumar Das
