Soil is more than just a layer beneath our feet – it is the very foundation of life, agriculture, and economic stability. For a country like India, home to over a billion people, healthy soil ensures food security, supports biodiversity, and sustains rural livelihoods. Yet, this precious resource faces relentless threats from both nature and human activity. From wind erosion in the arid Thar Desert to waterlogging in the Gangetic plains, the challenges are diverse and far-reaching. Without strategic conservation measures, the nation risks losing its most vital natural asset. This is why protecting and restoring soil is not merely an environmental concern, but a national imperative for India’s future.
Importance and Strategies for Soil Conservation in India
Given the crucial role of soil resources in sustaining a nation of over a billion people, the judicious use and preservation of soil is of utmost importance. Farmers in the arid regions of Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, and western Madhya Pradesh have pioneered effective measures to combat soil erosion, such as planting tree rows to reduce wind speed and protect the soil cover.
Soil conservation encompasses reducing soil erosion, promoting afforestation, ensuring balanced utilisation of soils, and adopting practices to maintain long-term soil sustainability. Effective measures include:
- Afforestation: Planting trees reduces soil erosion by slowing surface runoff, improving water infiltration, and replenishing groundwater. Social forestry projects along rivers, canals, lakes, roads, and railway lines can strengthen this effort.
- Restriction on Tree Felling: Preventing indiscriminate deforestation is vital. Movements like Chipko demonstrate how public awareness can drive the protection of trees.
- Contour Ploughing and Strip Cultivation: In hilly areas, ploughing along contour lines rather than up and down slopes reduces erosion. Strip cultivation on gentle slopes further counters soil loss.
- Flood Control: Since soil erosion often results from seasonal flooding, measures for storing and diverting excess rainwater are essential. Large-scale projects like the Garland Canal and Ganga–Kaveri Link Canal can aid flood management and soil protection.
- Reclamation of Ravines and Badlands: Chambal ravines in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan are being rehabilitated through gully plugging, bund construction, levelling, afforestation, and controlled grazing.
- Restricting Shifting Cultivation: Slash-and-burn farming in the north-east and Western/Eastern Ghats contributes heavily to erosion. Programmes targeting shifting cultivators (Jhumias) promote terraced farming and sedentary agriculture, aiming for nationwide adoption.
- Restoration of Long Fallow Lands: With over 9.6 million hectares of fallow land, regions like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu can repurpose these lands for cultivation, grazing, and orchards to limit soil degradation.
- Reclamation of Saline and Alkaline Soils: More than 8 million hectares suffer from salt-affected soils. Using gypsum and organic matter, such as cow dung, helps restore productivity.
Measures for Soil Protection
The Government of India has consistently prioritised soil conservation through multiple initiatives:
- Construction of small dams on river tributaries to control floods and erosion.
- Lining canals to prevent seepage and waterlogging.
- Improving drainage systems to combat waterlogging.
- Establishing wind-breaks and shelterbelts in arid zones.
- Expanding the use of organic and compost manures, green manures, and cow dung.
- Converting urban waste into nutrient-rich compost.
- Practising scientific crop rotation.
- Filling gullies and building terraces on slopes.
- Levelling ravine lands and planting trees and grasses.
- Converting shifting cultivation lands into permanent agriculture.
- Promoting afforestation across degraded soil areas.
- Adopting techniques of sustainable farming.
- Raising public awareness of soil erosion through educational programmes, seminars, and workshops.
| Government schemes for soil protection | |
| Name of Scheme | Objective |
| Soil Health Card Scheme | To equip every farmer with detailed information about the nutrient status of their land. These cards provide tailored recommendations on the correct dosage of nutrients and fertilisers required to enhance soil health and fertility. By understanding their soil profile, farmers can select crops best suited to their land and apply fertilisers more efficiently, leading to improved yields and reduced costs. This initiative is now integrated into the PM–Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) as part of its Soil Health & Fertility component, reinforcing the commitment to sustainable agriculture and resource-efficient farming across India |
| Rashtriya Krishi Vigyan Yojana (RKVY) | To safeguard the topsoil, enrich soil fertility, and boost crop as well as land productivity, this approach focuses on integrated soil and water conservation — with special emphasis on the sustainable management of watershed regions. |
| National Action Plan to Combat Desertification | India’s updated National Action Plan (2023) aims to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030, aligning with its Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) targets under the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The plan adopts a landscape-level approach, integrating forestry interventions and promoting convergence among existing afforestation schemes. It also supports South-South cooperation and aims to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent through expanded tree cover. |
| PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana | Launched in 2025, this flagship agricultural initiative spans 100 districts and converges 36 sub-schemes across 11 ministries to boost productivity, promote crop diversification, and strengthen sustainable farming practices. By improving irrigation, post-harvest infrastructure, and credit access, the scheme directly addresses soil degradation drivers such as overuse and poor land management. |
| Soil and Land Use Survey of India (SLUSI) | Established in 1958, SLUSI plays a foundational role in mapping soil types and land use patterns across the country. As a key technical agency under the Ministry of Agriculture, it conducts field surveys, collects soil samples, and provides data essential for planning conservation strategies and sustainable land use. |
| National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) | It serves as an umbrella programme for sustainable farming, with Soil Health Management (SHM) as a core component. It promotes integrated nutrient management, supports soil testing, and implements the nationwide Soil Health Card scheme—providing farmers with tailored recommendations to improve soil fertility and reduce chemical dependency. |
For More Readings: PROBLEMS OF SOILS IN INDIA | SOILS IN INDIA | MINERALS OF SOIL