Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday, June 1, 2026 called on farmers across India to apply fertilisers only on the basis of soil testing, warning that untested chemical use risks destroying agricultural land. The appeal, posted on his official X account under the hashtag #KhetBachaoAbhiyan, urges balanced crop nutrition and cost reduction as the 2026 Kharif sowing season approaches.

Context

Rijiju's post, written in Hindi, carries a pointed advisory: 'Bina jaanch ke khaad, kheti ko karega barbaad!' ('Fertiliser without testing will destroy farming!'). He urged farmers to provide inputs 'kewal mitti parikshan ke aadhar par' — only on the basis of soil testing — and to adopt balanced nutrition practices to bring down cultivation costs. The message was accompanied by four images, underscoring its public-outreach character.

The appeal comes as India's Kharif sowing window opens with the onset of the southwest monsoon, a period when fertiliser procurement decisions are made at the farm level. Indiscriminate application of urea and other nutrients at this stage has long been identified by agronomists as a driver of both cost inflation and soil degradation.

Policy Backdrop

The Soil Health Card Scheme, launched in February 2015, is the Central government's flagship instrument for addressing exactly this problem. The scheme provides farmers with individualised reports on soil nutrient levels and crop-specific fertiliser recommendations, enabling targeted rather than blanket application. Over the past decade, successive budget cycles have sought to expand soil-testing laboratories and digital advisory platforms at the district level.

Rijiju's post fits squarely within this decade-long policy arc. By invoking soil testing as the non-negotiable basis for fertiliser use, the minister reinforces a message that the government has been pushing since 2015: that sustainable agriculture and lower input costs are two sides of the same coin. State agriculture departments are expected to intensify soil-testing drives ahead of the Kharif season in parallel with such outreach.

Stakeholders and Impact

Indian farmers — particularly smallholders who rely heavily on chemical fertilisers and have limited access to extension services — are the primary audience. Excessive and untested fertiliser use raises per-acre input costs while progressively degrading soil organic matter, reducing long-term productivity. Balanced fertilisation, guided by soil health data, can meaningfully lower the cost of cultivation per quintal of output.

The fertiliser subsidy bill, which runs into tens of thousands of crore rupees annually for the Central government, is also indirectly linked to consumption patterns at the farm level. A shift toward need-based application, if achieved at scale, would moderate subsidy demand while improving agronomic outcomes — a dual fiscal and environmental benefit.

What's Next

State agriculture departments are expected to ramp up soil-testing camps and mobile laboratory services as the Kharif 2026 season progresses. The monsoon session of Parliament may also see related questions or supplementary demands for grants linked to soil-health infrastructure funding. Rijiju's social-media push adds political visibility to what has largely been a technical extension-services campaign, potentially accelerating state-level action ahead of the sowing deadline.