Tamil Nadu Achieves Major Milestone in Soil Health Mission, Reaches Over 15.2 Million Farmers with Soil Health Cards
07 August 2025, Tamil Nadu: Tamil Nadu has made remarkable progress in improving soil quality for farmers through extensive efforts under the Soil Health and Fertility Scheme. Since its launch in 2015, the state has distributed 15.251 million Soil Health Cards (SHCs)to farmers as of June 30, 2025. This information was shared by Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Ramnath Thakur, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on August 6, 2025.
The state government ensured timely delivery of SHCs to all farmers, including smallholders and marginal farmers, by adopting a distribution system aligned with the Citizen Charter. Advisory services are delivered through multiple channels, including the Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA), Krishi Sakhi (Agri Volunteers), and Mobile Soil Testing Laboratory (MSTL) vans.
Doorstep Advisory Across Villages
ATMA officials organize training programmes under various schemes in each village, where information about SHCs is mandatorily included. MSTL vans visit villages to collect soil samples, conduct on-the-spot testing, and issue SHCs along with tailored recommendations.
In addition, block-level Village Agricultural Development Groups provide advisory services ahead of each Kharif and Rabi season. No major soil-related issues have been identified across large areas; however, certain regions have been marked as “problematic soil pockets”, for which specific remedial recommendations have been issued.
36 Soil Labs Accredited by NABL; Reports Now Available Online
To enhance the accuracy of soil testing, the Tamil Nadu government has pursued accreditation through the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). As a result, 36 permanent soil testing laboratories in the state have been NABL-certified.
These labs have been upgraded with advanced technologies such as Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS) and Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) Spectrophotometer. To streamline the process, all test results are now uploaded to the Soil Health Card digital portal, enabling farmers to access their reports and recommendations online.
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