To improve both crop and human nutrition, India needs a paradigm shift

Indian Express

6 days ago

Who would have imagined that India, which lived from 'ship to mouth' with heavy dependence on food aid under the US PL-480 programme in the 1960s, would emerge as the world's largest rice exporter? In 2024-25 (FY25), India exported 20.2 million tonnes (MT) of rice in a global market of 61 MT. The country also runs the world's largest food distribution programme, the PM-Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY), which provides 5 kg of free rice or wheat per person per month to more than 800 million people. Yet, the Food Corporation of India holds about 57 MT of rice — the highest stock in 20 years and nearly four times the buffer norm of 13.54 million tonnes as of July 1, 2025.
Poverty, too, has receded significantly. The extreme poverty head count (those earning less than $3/day at 2021 PPP) dropped from 27.1 per cent in 2011 to just 5.3 per cent in 2022. Notwithstanding these achievements, malnutrition amongst children remains a challenge. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS 5) (2019–21) reports that 35.5 per cent of children under five years of age are stunted, 32.1 per cent are underweight, and 19.3 per cent are wasted. Food security in India has evolved beyond merely ensuring caloric sufficiency; it must now encompass nutritional security as well.
One critical, and often overlooked, factor here is the health of soils. Soil micronutrient deficiencies not only impair agricultural productivity but also degrade the nutritional quality of crops. Crops grown on nutrient-deficient soils often mirror those deficiencies, leading to a silent but pervasive form of malnutrition in humans. Take zinc. Its deficiency in soils translates into low zinc content in cereals like wheat and rice, which in turn is linked to childhood stunting — a condition that affects the physical development, long-term cognitive health, as well as the professional life of a person.
Let us now turn to the status of Indian soils. Of more than 8.8 million soil samples tested under the Soil Health Card Scheme in 2024, less than 5 per cent have high or sufficient nitrogen (N), only 40 per cent have sufficient phosphate (P), 32 per cent have sufficient potash (K) and just 20 per cent are sufficient in soil organic carbon (SOC) (see graph).
Importantly, SOC is a critical parameter defining the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil — these govern its holding capacity and nutrient use efficiency. There is also a debate as to how much SOC is considered sufficient. As per the Indian Institute of Soil Science (IISC), SOC in the range of 0.50- 0.75 per cent is adequate. But the World Food Laureate, Rattan Lal, who has worked on soil health throughout his career, prescribes that the carbon content in soils should be at least 1.5 to 2 per cent. Our soils also suffer from a deficiency of sulphur, as well as micronutrients like iron, zinc and boron. These deficiencies range from moderate to severe. It won't be an exaggeration to say that many parcels of Indian soils need to be immediately taken to an intensive care unit (ICU) to restore them to normal health so that they can produce nutritious food on a sustainable basis.
We have also observed that in some parts of the country, nitrogen (N) is overused while phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) are underused. For example, in Punjab, nitrogen use exceeds recommendations by 61 per cent, while potassium use is short by 89 per cent, and phosphorus use is short by 8 per cent. Telangana also mirrors this imbalance — it overuses N by 54 per cent but its use of K is 82 per cent less, and that of P is 13 per cent less. The situation is similar in several other states. The highly imbalanced use of N, P and K and the neglect of micronutrients leads to suboptimal agricultural productivity. Nationwide, the fertiliser-to-grain response ratio has declined significantly from 1:10 in the 1970s to a mere 1:2.7 in 2015.
Moreover, the application of granular urea results in substantial nitrogen losses, with only 35-40 per cent of the nitrogen being absorbed by the crops. The remaining nitrogen is either released into the atmosphere as nitrous oxide — a greenhouse gas that is 273 times more potent than carbon dioxide — or leaches into groundwater, contaminating it with nitrates and making it unsafe for consumption. So, in a way, the imbalanced use of N, P and K is also increasing the pollution, rather than increasing grain yields. Additionally, a significant portion of urea is diverted to non-agricultural uses and also finds its way to neighbouring countries. This needs to change.
To restore soil health and improve both crop and human nutrition, India needs a paradigm shift — from indiscriminate use of fertilisers to tailored and science-based soil nutrition management. This calls for more precise and customised fertilisation strategies, which are informed by rigorous soil testing and aligned with the nutritional needs of different soils and crops.
Only when soils receive the nutrients do they produce food that nourishes rather than merely fills stomachs. This is no longer just an agricultural issue; it is a public health imperative.
Recognising the urgency of this challenge, the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) and OCP Nutricrops have committed to collaborating to improve soil health in India and beyond. OCP Nutricrops brings cutting-edge expertise in soil nutrition and fertiliser solutions aimed at addressing global challenges in sustainable food production. The collaboration aims to develop, implement, and scale region-specific, data-driven soil nutrition solutions that enhance crop productivity while improving their nutritional profile.
Thus, to truly move from plate to plough — and back to plate — we must start by healing Mother Earth. Only then can we walk as a healthy nation.
Gulati is distinguished professor at ICRIER, Vergutz is chief scientific officer at OCP Nutricrops, and Juneja is research fellow at ICRIER. Views are personal