For decades, Indian agriculture has delivered impressive gains in food production, helping feed a growing population. Yet this success has masked a silent crisis beneath our feet. Intensive cultivation, excessive dependence on chemical fertilizers, and monocropping have steadily eroded soil health. As climate variability intensifies and input costs rise, the old “more fertilizer, more yield” approach is losing effectiveness. Ensuring long-term food security now demands a decisive shift toward Integrated Nutrient Management (INM), a strategy that treats soil as a living system rather than an inert input.
The Hidden Crisis of Soil Degradation
Indian agriculture is dominated by small and marginal farmers who rely heavily on nitrogen-based fertilizers. Over time, imbalanced nutrient application has depleted soils of secondary and micronutrients such as sulphur, zinc and boron, leading to widespread multi-nutrient deficiencies.
This degradation directly affects factor productivity. Farmers are forced to apply increasing quantities of fertilizer just to maintain earlier yield levels, raising costs and reducing profitability. Degraded soils also hold less water, making crops more vulnerable to droughts and erratic rainfall—conditions that are becoming more frequent under India’s changing climate.
Understanding Integrated Nutrient Management
Integrated Nutrient Management does not reject modern inputs; instead, it optimises them. INM advocates a judicious combination of chemical, organic and biological sources of nutrients to maintain soil fertility and crop productivity over time.
At its core, INM involves:
- Balanced use of chemical fertilizers based on actual soil needs
- Incorporation of organic manures such as farmyard manure, compost, vermicompost and green manures
- Use of bio-fertilizers like Rhizobium, Azotobacter and mycorrhizae to enhance natural nutrient cycling
- Recycling crop residues back into the soil
This approach mirrors a balanced diet for the soil, supplying nutrients while restoring its natural functions.
The Three Pillars of Soil Health
The effectiveness of INM lies in its impact on the physical, chemical and biological dimensions of soil health. Physically, the addition of organic matter improves soil structure and water-holding capacity. For rainfed farmers, this means soils can retain moisture longer during dry spells.
Chemically, INM helps maintain optimal pH and ensures that nutrients remain available to plant roots rather than being lost through leaching or fixation. Biologically, it stimulates microbial activity and earthworm populations—key agents in nutrient cycling and long-term soil fertility, especially in intensive systems such as the rice–wheat belts.
Translating INM into Field Practices
Moving from principle to practice requires site-specific management. Government initiatives like the Soil Health Card Scheme provide farmers with crop-wise fertilizer recommendations based on soil testing, replacing guesswork with evidence.
Practical INM measures include split application of nitrogen to match crop growth stages, use of neem-coated urea to slow nutrient release, and adoption of simple decision tools such as the Leaf Colour Chart in rice. Integrating legumes into crop rotations further enhances biological nitrogen fixation, improving system-wide productivity.
Farm-Level Benefits and Economic Outcomes
Long-term field experiments across India consistently show that integrated use of fertilizers and organic inputs sustains higher yields than chemical fertilizers alone. For farmers, the gains are concrete:
- Reduced input costs through partial substitution of chemical fertilizers
- Greater resilience to climatic stress due to improved root growth and soil tilth
- Better crop quality through correction of micronutrient deficiencies
These benefits make INM not just an environmental strategy, but an economically rational choice.
Alignment with India’s Sustainability Goals
Beyond individual farms, INM supports national objectives of environmental sustainability. Reduced nutrient losses lower water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. By slowing the degradation of soils, INM also safeguards the productive base of Indian agriculture for future generations.
India cannot afford to continue “mining” its soils to sustain short-term output. Integrated Nutrient Management offers a scalable, farmer-centric pathway that balances productivity, resilience and sustainability—essential for feeding the nation in the decades ahead.
What to Note for Prelims?
- Meaning and components of Integrated Nutrient Management
- Micronutrient deficiencies in Indian soils
- Soil Health Card Scheme objectives
- Neem-coated urea and bio-fertilizers
What to Note for Mains?
- Link between soil health and agricultural sustainability
- Role of INM in climate-resilient agriculture
- Economic and environmental benefits of balanced nutrient use
- Policy measures needed to scale INM adoption among small farmers
