39% Zinc Deficient Soils Threaten India Nutrition Security

Micronutrient malnutrition affects more than 2 billion people globally, while 39% of Indian soils suffer from zinc deficiency, according to data from the Government’s Soil Health Management Programme cited by krishijagran.com. This widespread depletion of vital soil nutrients creates a cascading health deficit that travels directly from the ground into crops, livestock, and ultimately human populations.

Soil Testing Reveals Widespread Deficiencies Across Districts

Decades of intensive crop cultivation and heavy fertilizer use focused primarily on nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium have depleted essential micronutrients from agricultural land. Continuous farming removes these elements without adequate replenishment, while factors like soil pH and low organic carbon further limit nutrient availability.

Data covering nearly 30 million soil samples under the Government’s Soil Health Management Programme shows zinc is the country’s most prevalent micronutrient deficiency at 39%, krishijagran.com reported. Furthermore, an analysis of over 242,000 soil samples conducted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) across 615 districts revealed widespread shortages of additional elements, affecting 36.5% of samples for zinc, 23.2% for boron, 12.8% for iron, 7.1% for copper, and 4.2% for manganese.

Nutritional Deficits Impair Crops and Livestock

Nutrient-deficient soils produce deficient crops that fail to deliver optimal nutritional quality for either humans or farm animals. In plants, zinc drives enzyme activity and protein synthesis, iron governs chlorophyll formation, and boron, copper, and manganese support overall development and photosynthesis, as krishijagran.com detailed.

Livestock rely directly on these same crops for feed and fodder. Shortages of zinc, copper, selenium, and iodine severely impact animal growth, reproductive fertility, immunity, and daily productivity, according to krishijagran.com reporting.

Bio-Fortification and Management Strategies Offer Solutions

Addressing these interconnected deficiencies requires moving agriculture beyond a purely calorie-centric model toward comprehensive nutritional security. Soil-test-based nutrient management serves as the primary intervention, utilizing zinc sulphate, ferrous sulphate, borax, and newer micronutrient formulations.

ICAR agronomic bio-fortification studies demonstrate that targeted soil and foliar applications of micronutrients can boost crop yields by up to 34% while increasing zinc and iron levels in harvested grains. Additionally, crop breeding programs have successfully released 206 bio-fortified varieties of cereals, pulses, oilseeds, fruits, and vegetables enriched with essential minerals and protein, krishijagran.com noted.

Integration Under the National One Health Mission

The Fertiliser Association of India, through Director General Dr. Suresh Kumar Chaudhari, emphasizes that building nutritional security from the ground up requires aligning agricultural practices with broader public-health frameworks. Integrating balanced fertilization, organic resource recycling, and bio-fortification supports the National One Health Mission, which connects human, animal, plant, and environmental health through a collaborative, cross-sectoral approach.