Soil Sampling: Bridging Farmer’s Knowledge, Perception and Adoption for Sustainable Agriculture in Punjab, India

Abstract

Crop yield, nutrient management, and long-term farm sustainability are all impacted by soil health, which is essential to sustainable agriculture. Nevertheless, many farmers continue to rely on traditional knowledge rather than modern soil testing, resulting in uneven fertilization, declining soil fertility, and environmental issues. Due to a lack of accessible testing facilities, low awareness, and cost constraints, soil sampling is not commonly used in rural regions despite its advantages. In this study, 120 farmers from a rural farming community in Punjab were questioned to gauge their awareness, expertise, and readiness to use soil sampling. Farmers were first evaluated for their knowledge and practices as part of a before-and-after educational intervention strategy. After watching an educational video about appropriate sampling methods and managing soil health, they were given an after-video questionnaire to gauge their level of understanding and readiness to do soil sampling. The findings revealed that although 95% of farmers knew about soil sampling, just 31.7% knew well about the soil sampling methods. Following the video, 80% of respondents indicated interest in implementing soil sampling, compared to 38.3% who had done so before the intervention. 98.3% of respondents thought the video was helpful, indicating very high effectiveness. Financial limitations and a shortage of testing facilities, however, continue to be problems. In order to close the knowledge gap and advance scientific soil health management, this study emphasizes the value of educational initiatives. Adoption of soil sampling can be accelerated and sustainable agricultural practices ensured in rural communities by fortifying support networks with government-backed initiatives, mobile soil labs, and financial incentives.