CSISA shared insights and outcomes of the Soil Intelligence System initiative in Bihar

On December 5th, 2024, World Soil Day was celebrated at the Bihar Agriculture Management & Extension Training Institute (BAMETI), Patna. The event was chaired by Hon’ble Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of Bihar, Shri Mangal Pandey. It was attended by senior agricultural officials from the Government of Bihar, along with distinguished scientists from both state and federal agricultural universities—BAU-Sabour and RP CAU-Pusa.

The gathering also included Agricultural Extension personnel, such as  Block Technology Managers (BTMs), Assistant Technology Managers (ATMs) and Kisan Salahkars from Patna and Vaishali districts, along with over 200 farmers from across Bihar who actively participated in the event. Dr. Shishpal Poonia Lead Researcher at CIMMYT-CSISA participated in the meeting and apprised the attendees of significant strides by CSISA and partners in understanding soil health through the Soil Intelligence System (SIS) initiative in Bihar.

In his address on World Soil Day, Hon’ble Minister Shri Mangal Pandey, highlighted the event’s local and global significance. He raised concerns about deteriorating soil health caused by imbalanced fertilizer use and residue burning. The Minister stressed the need for integrated nutrient management by combining indigenous manures with balanced fertilizers to rejuvenate soil. He also emphasized the need to enhance awareness about sustainable agricultural practices and improve rainwater harvesting systems at both individual and community levels to mitigate soil erosion.

Minister Pandey warned of health risks from excessive use of harmful chemicals in agriculture, urging farmers to adopt sustainable practices. “We must protect the health of our soil and our people,” he added.

Dr. Poonia shared key insights from the CSISA project, highlighting grassroots success stories that demonstrate the effectiveness of the initiative. He presented interim results from the SIS Bihar initiative, with a focus on early wheat seeding techniques and the outcomes of the newly established Spectroscopy-based soil analysis laboratory.

Dr. Poonia also outlined the advantages of the Digitized Soil Maps (DSMs) developed under the SIS Bihar initiative, which provide detailed data on 13 essential soil properties. Furthermore, he discussed the project’s work on the G × E × M (Genetics × Environment × Management) at farmers’ fields, specifically addressing efforts to combat malnutrition by improving Zinc and Iron levels in rice-wheat cropping systems.