Revitalization of Rivers in India Draft Policy - Isha Guru Jaggi Vasudev

Revitalization of Rivers In India
Draft Policy Recommendation
which make up a substantial portion of the total cost of Rs. 17,500 towards
growing paddy on one acre. 15 Such expenditures which are aimed at ensuring
crop productivity have had negative consequences on the soil. We will
explain this in the next section, and see how the proposed techno-economic
agro-forestry based farming model is a solution for soil health.
CRISIS OF SOIL HEALTH
Soil crisis: After water, the second natural resource required to do
farming is fertile soil. The plant fetches 95 to 98 percent of its nutrients
from air and water – mainly carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen.
The remaining 2 to 5 percent of its nutrient requirement is supplied by
the soil. Although miniscule in proportion, the soil is responsible for
some of the plant’s vital functions, like fruit bearing. With repeated
use of inorganic fertilizers – which are intended to supplement for the
deficiency of N, P, K in soil – the microorganisms responsible for the
production of micro-nutrients are killed. 16
Soil is not just a medium for crop growth but a living system. The soil
ecosystem is dependent on its biotic diversity for its health, functioning,
stability and sustained productivity. Apart from the nutrients required
for crop growth, it needs continuous nourishment with food for its
biotic component, macro (earth worms, millipedes, mites, etc.) and
micro fauna (bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes). To put it very simply,
in the words of Nammalvar Ayya (a legend in Tamil Nadu for promoting
sustainable farming for many decades), when we eat anything salty, we
get thirsty; similarly for the soil, when we feed it N, P, or K salts it needs
more water (irrigation). These salts increase the salinity of the soil over
the years, making it unfit for agriculture after a period of time. And as
salt does to pickles (kills all the microbes and saves the vegetable for our
consumption), it does to the soil too (kills microbes). The only difference
is that the microbes killed in the soil are the very ones which make the
nutrients in the soil available to the plant in a form that it needs. For it to
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