Farmers in Kerala will soon have an online data support system to help them optimise the productivity of their shrinking landholdings.
The Department of Soil Survey and Soil Conservation is launching a Web-based Micro-level Information System on Soils of Kerala (MISSK) that will provide them with reliable inputs for better agricultural planning and resource management.
The system is designed to help famers assess the soil fertility status of their holdings and adopt appropriate nutrient management strategies for better yield. It will also provide planners and administrators at the local level with precise information to formulate viable agricultural and land management strategies.
MISSK features a panchayat-level resource inventory with cadastral details on a 1:5000 scale. The GIS- based system is designed to assist farmers and extension workers in selecting appropriate crops, optimizing fertilizer use and identifying the suitable agricultural machinery and tools.
The pilot project covering 88 panchayats in Thrissur and 26 panchayats in Wayanad is based on a detailed soil survey carried out by the department. The system provides soil and land resource information including soil texture, soil depth, erosion status, land use pattern, and paddy land conversion as well as nutrient status, crop suitability, and land type. The data will be hosted on the departmental websitewww.keralasoils.gov.in.
“The twin challenges of preventing degradation and increasing productivity can be addressed only by adopting site-specific land management technologies suitable for each plot in a village,” says P.N. Premachandran, Director, Soil Survey and Soil Conservation. He said MISSK could be interfaced with other resource inventories on climate, socio-economic conditions and marketing facilities to enable the government to make policy decisions at the grassroots level. Governor P. Sathasivam is scheduled to launch the soil information system at a function to be held here on Wednesday.
