"Imbalanced fertiliser use is as much an extension failure as a pricing failure." Examine in light of recent mission-mode campaigns such as the Khet Bachao Abhiyan.

Imbalanced fertiliser use means applying too much nitrogen compared with phosphorus, potassium and micronutrients. It degrades soil and wastes subsidy. The statement largely holds: distorted prices and a lack of plot-specific advice reinforce each other. Mission-mode campaigns such as the Khet Bachao Abhiyan (KBA) can fix only the second.

Pricing failure

• Urea is sold at a statutorily notified MRP, regardless of its cost of production. That price has not changed since 2018 [5].
• P&K fertilisers fall under the Nutrient Based Subsidy (since 2010). They get a fixed subsidy per nutrient, and companies set their MRPs [6].
• So nitrogen stays cheap while P&K prices move with the market. Advice to use "balance" works against the farmer's budget every season.

Extension failure

• A National Productivity Council study covered 76 districts in 19 States. It found that 92% of farmers did not use balanced fertiliser or micronutrients before they got Soil Health Cards, because they lacked nutrient information [4].
• Farmers who followed their card reported 8–10% less chemical fertiliser use and 5–6% higher yields [4]. Advice does change behaviour, although these figures are self-reported.

Mission-mode campaigns: strengths and limits

• KBA Kharif 2026 promoted Soil Health Card recommendations through joint Centre–State village visits [3].
• KBA Rabi 2026 deploys 4,150 KVK–ATMA teams to reach about 1 crore participants in 40 days [1].
• Reach is not adoption. One release reported 2.712 crore citizens reached, but only 7.17 lakh farmers were sensitised on balanced fertiliser use [2].
• Too many messages. Over 20 themes, from Farmer ID and KCC to natural farming alongside balanced chemical use, dilute the core message [1].
• Campaigns cannot change prices. The Rabi release itself stresses that adoption needs monitoring [1].

Way forward

• Measure adoption, not attendance. Use field-measured before-and-after surveys of fertiliser use, building on the NPC method [4].
• Link Farmer ID with Soil Health Card data so that each farmer's input use can be tracked season by season [1].
• Give each KVK two or three region-specific themes and ensure repeat contact with the same farmers.
• Rationalise urea pricing step by step so that price signals support the advice.

Imbalanced fertiliser use is therefore a twin failure: prices favour nitrogen, and advice rarely reaches the farmer's own plot. Campaigns like KBA are a useful start on closing the knowledge gap. Lasting balance needs price reform, repeated plot-specific extension and adoption-based metrics, in line with SDG 2's goal of sustainable agriculture and healthy soils.