December 5th is celebrated as “World Soil Day” across the globe since last few years. Yesterday in an inspirational lecture at UAS Dharwad, Karnataka India, the famous Agriculture Scientist Dr. Khader Vali left a beautiful thought
He said, “Rather than celebrating different “World Soil Day”, “World Water Day’, World Environment Day etc.; let’s celebrate only one “World Nature Day” since Mother Nature doesn’t look at life in compartments!”
Sure I’m game. Till the time it happens we (me and my tribe) will get ample opportunities to create social media for water, soil, seeds and many other aspects of agriculture!!
Let’s understand a little bit of Indian soil in the meantime.
Indian soils are lost at an average @22 to 25 MT per hectare every year. Given the size of cultivable area (140 million Hectare) that’s a huge lot which can fill the basin of any small river in a single year.
To make life more interesting these soils have also reached <0.25-0.5% of Organic Carbon or OC. Why is higher OC needed? What is a healthy % of soil OC are some questions I will like you reader friends to ponder and delve further! The basic nutrition of micro and macro nutrients is diminishing fast in soils.
Why is soil considered a living organism? Because it has HUMUS which helps it breathe. Also there are micro-organisms @ millions per mg of soil; and also because what we eat becomes healthy only when we have a living, breathing, nourished with higher OC, macro and micro nutrients soil.
There is a proverb in our country “You become what you eat” (Jaisa Ann vaisa Man). Logically, what we eat depends on how well we have kept our soils. And to that extent we the Indians haven’t kept our soils healthy for last few decades!
So no doubt that sustained higher ratios of malnutrition, IMR (Infant Mortality), Maternal Mortality, High Morbidity etc. and chronic forms of illnesses prevail across the country.
Don’t we see clearly that by taking good care of our soils we’ll be able to grow healthy food which will make us healthy bodies, minds and spirits and thereby all the aspirations that we as a young country have will be met better, faster, healthier!
So recycling wet waste into compost or soil, reducing non-degradable consumption, plantation and green cover management of empty lands, of walls and paved constructed surfaces, using products which are produced locally (reduced carbon foot prints) and a whole lot of very interesting “Science of Sustainability” awaits each one of us to learn from.
Swami Vivekanand “One vision I can see clear as life before me that the ancient Mother has awakened once more, sitting on her throne- rejuvenated, more glorious than ever. Proclaim her to the entire world with the voice of peace and benediction”
Sanghachadvam: Let’s walk together and make this vision come true!!!