Centre will scale up the Khet Bachao Abhiyan into a national movement to maintain soil health and minimise excessive use of chemical fertilisers, said Union Minister for Agriculture Shivraj Singh Chouhan at an agricultural event in Haryana.

Addressing the closing ceremony of the programme in Rewari, Chouhan informed that the Ministry of Agriculture will take the initiative to other states to promote soil-friendly practices that help increase farm productivity.

Declining soil health is a matter of concern in recent times due to the years of excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides, he said, adding that fertilisers should be applied after soil testing. Indiscriminate use of urea and diammonium phosphate (DAP) leads to degradation of soil quality, disturbs the nutrient balance, and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, he added.

The Centre is also working towards developing a mobile platform where farmers would have instant access to data about their Soil Health Card. The application would be able to tell farmers about the nutrients in the soil, deficiencies, and the quantity of fertilizers required by individual fields. The government is hoping that this system will enable farmers to avoid unnecessary expenditure on inputs and improve soil management.

Chouhan called upon the farmers to gradually shift to natural farming through the reservation of a portion of their land. According to Chouhan, the excessive use of chemicals for many years has decreased the population of earthworms and other microorganisms, which help in maintaining the fertility of the soil. He maintained that the revival of biological activity on farmlands was very important for sustainable agriculture.

In this regard, the minister also spoke about the issue of subnormal rains due to El Niño. He stated that the Centre, along with the government of Haryana, was encouraging the planting of crop varieties, which required less water and grew quickly.

He also highlighted Haryana's incentive of ₹8,000 per acre for farmers shifting from paddy cultivation to pulses. According to the minister, the move is expected to reduce pressure on groundwater resources while supporting crop diversification.

Chouhan said Haryana's initiatives, including procurement of 24 crops at the Minimum Support Price (MSP), digital crop registration and water conservation programmes, offer examples of measures that can strengthen agricultural management and improve resource use.