Hemchandra Saikia
(saikia.hemchandra@rediffmail.com)
We all know that without soil human being across the world is helpless and hardly think of development-oriented peaceful and happy life with easy, acceptable, affordable and profitable life on a sustainable basis. Soil, particularly fertile soil, has a crucial role in giving and maintaining a human being a true kind of sustainable food security forever. The importance of soil is very clearly mentioned in the preamble of the revised World Soil Charter (FAO, 2015) as "Soils are fundamental to life on Earth but human pressure on soil resources is reaching critical limits. Careful soil management is one essential element of sustainable agriculture and also provides a valuable lever for climate regulation and a pathway for safeguarding ecosystem services and biodiversity." So maintenance of sustainable soil fertility is very crucial not only for the present but also for our better future of desired nature.
But to harvest, the leverage of soil fertility towards very food security, development, the peace we the humankind must be able to maintain the very fertility of soil year after year and these can happen in reality for ever if we can stop our injudicious activities on soil health like injudicious use of fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation, soil erosion of varied types (both manmade and natural), deforestation, environmental pollution, soil degradation, damage to ecosystem and biodiversity etc. But our human activities in the quest of development and wealth etc., have accentuated the process of soil degradation and loss of soil fertility to an alarming level which is supported by various research data or reports of reputed nature related to this very aspect. For example, soil erosion has direct negative effects on global agriculture. Soil erosion by water induces annual fluxes of 23-42 Mt (megaton) N and 14.6-26.4 Mt P off agricultural land (Status of World's Resources, FAO, 2015). Another research finding revealed that soil degradation in India affects 147 million hectares of land. Of which 94 Mha from water erosion, 16 Mha from acidification, 14 Mha from flooding, 9Mha from wind erosion, 6 Mha from salinity and 7 Mha from a combination of factors. This is extremely serious because India supports 18% of the world's human population and 15% of the world's livestock population, but has only 2.4% of the world's land area(http://ideas.repec. org >gam >jsusta). Thus there are many research findings that support and recognized injudicious activities of human beings which is one of the main crucial elements aggravating the process of various types of soil degradation and loss of soil fertility across the world and standing as a great challenge to the very sustainability of human civilization, development, peace including food security.
Under the existing environment of soil degradation and loss of soil health and soil fertility fruitful intervention in the following field of human activities may be very crucial in obtaining and maintaining sound soil health along with due soil fertility on a sustainable basis with a very collective and cooperative community approaches. They are-
1. Control of Soil erosion: Soil erosion of any type like the wind, water or flood etc must be stopped or brought to a minimum level possible by adopting all suitable effective measures both at the individual level, societal level with enough institutional support of true kind in due space and time.
Judicious use of irrigation water to stop salinization and another type of soil degradation affecting physical properties of desirable soil health capable of yielding sustainable crop production and food security.3.Balance use of fertilizers and recommended use of chemicals and pesticides: When there is the prevalence of imbalance use of fertilizers, Farm Yard Manure, chemicals and pesticides, then it will not only encourage loss of physical properties of soil but also encourage incidence of disease and disorder, deficiency symptom in crop plants but also leverage climate change, reduced crop output and productivity which ultimately affect income and profit of our farming community in particular and economy in general. So it is very essential for our esteemed farming community to go for balanced use of fertilizers application, recommended use of chemicals and pesticides on a community basis to reap right type benefits in their life to have a sustainable way of life. And this demand the right time of effective awareness as a mass movement at the right time and place on a very regular basis by our all experts or resources institutes (both institutional and non-institutional) and the good thing is that already very process has begun among our farming community but it needs more regular coverage and effective execution.
4. More emphasis and execution on the organic mode of crop cultivation with due adherence on halting the loss of soil degradation: Now it is the clarion call of present day time in the entire world to go for organic mode crop cultivation keeping in view the ill menace of environmental pollution, degradation of soil health, loss of soil fertility, modern high tech agriculture, industrialization, mechanization, climate change effect, the effect of pandemic and epidemics on human health and animal health, sustainable food security etc. Organic agriculture not only encourages healthy food, healthy environment but also encourage better soil health management on a continuous basis because under organic agriculture various types of bio-fertilizers perform very effectively in building a better soil health environment as soil fertility-friendly bio-agents like bacteria, fungi, algae, actinomycetes etc can survive and function very well under an organic environment which ultimately enhances the productivity of soil health with quality produce and environment. And one report revealed that bio-fertilizers when applied to seed or soil can increase the yield of crops by 10 to 25% without adversely affecting the soil and environment (Wikipedia. in).
So, the very theme for this year World Soil Day 2021 "Halt soil salinization, boost soil productivity" is very suitable and appropriate because there is an urgency to stop any sort of soil degradation including salinization, restoration of the healthy soil ecosystem, soil health management with active mass community participation, awareness, sensitization, demonstration where crucial role of experts or experts institutes or institutes of logistic supports will be very needed. And if things happen in the right direction then it will ensure our people with due food security, peace, happiness and progress together, creating an environment of sustainable socio-economic and healthy development in our human society across the world. So let's come together, cooperate together and work together with a greater goal to serve the cause of humanity.