Fertilizer
Meet Promises Atmanirbhar Fertilizer by 2047 without Suggestions
on where the Natural Gas is to Come from
National Academy of Agricultural Sciences
organizes a Brainstorming session to develop a roadmap for achieving Atmanirbharta in fertilizers.
Ø
Agricultural
sector will play a pivotal role in this journey towards Atmanirbhar
Bharat by 2047: Dr. M.L. Jat, Secretary DARE
Ø
Reducing
fertilizer import dependence is imperative; strengthening Soil Health, balanced
use, and farmer awareness key to sustainable agriculture: Dr. Jat
Key
Takeaways
Strategic
Vision
·
Target: Achieve Atmanirbhar
Bharat by 2047 with agriculture as a pivotal driver.
·
Challenge: Declining fertilizer use
efficiency and heavy import dependence.
·
Consumption: ~33 million tonnes annually; subsidy burden
₹1.71 lakh crore (2024–25).
Priority
Actions
·
Reduce
Import Dependence:
Focus on phosphorus, potassium, and natural gas inputs.
·
Soil
Health & Balanced Use:
Promote need-based application, farmer awareness, and crop diversification.
·
Technology
Integration: Precision
nutrient management, AI, sensor-based systems, and Bharat VISTAAR digital platform.
Research
& Development
·
Develop
smart alternate fertilizers.
·
Utilize
indigenous minerals (glauconite, phosphate rocks, mica, polyhalite).
·
Harness
industrial by-products and biological sources.
·
Exploit
soil microbiome and improve composting techniques.
·
Breed
crops for enhanced nutrient-use efficiency (NUE).
Policy
Shifts
·
Bring
urea under nutrient-based subsidy.
·
Repurpose
subsidies to incentivize Good Agricultural Practices (GAP).
·
Link
subsidies with Soil Health Cards.
Mission
Mode Program (INSAM)
·
Replace
25% of mineral fertilizers with organic manures in 3 years.
·
Aggressive
technology transfer and farmer training.
·
Promote
integrated nutrient supply and management.
Wake-Up
Call
·
Recent
West Asia supply chain disruptions highlight the urgency of self-reliance.
·
Current
fertilizer ratio (9.3:3.5:1) skewed towards nitrogen, causing soil nutrient imbalance.
[ABS
News Service/15.04.2026]
The National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) today organized
a Brainstorming session (BSS) to develop a roadmap for achieving Atmanirbharta (self-reliance) in fertilizers. Representatives
from concerned Government departments, Academia, Fertilizer Industry and Farmers
participated in the discussions, and opined unequivocally the necessity of Atmanirbharta in this critical sector.
After the session, Secretary, Department of Agriculture Research
and Education under Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and DG, Indian Council
of Agriculture Research and President, NAAS Dr. M.L. Jat addressed a press conference.
In his address, he said that India has set a target of achieving Atmanirbhar Bharat by 2047, and the agricultural sector will
play a pivotal role in this journey. While fertilizers were instrumental during
the Green Revolution in boosting production, the current challenge lies in declining
fertilizer use efficiency and their indiscriminate application.
Dr. Jat further added that with the country consuming nearly
33 million tonnes of fertilizers annually, a significant share of which is imported,
reducing import dependency has become imperative. He said addressing this issue
requires a comprehensive approach spanning short-term, medium-term, and long-term
strategies. He said that the strengthening initiatives like the Soil Health, promoting
balanced and need-based fertilizer application, and enhancing awareness among farmers
are important steps in this direction.
Dr.Jat informed that we must leverage modern technologies
such as precision nutrient management, artificial intelligence, and sensor-based
systems to optimize fertilizer use. Crop diversification towards pulses and oilseeds,
recycling organic waste under the Waste-to-Wealth initiative, and increasing the
use of biological sources will further contribute to reducing dependence on chemical
fertilizers, he added.
Speaking about the brainstorming session, he informed that it
was advised by the participants to adopt a multi-pronged strategy with short, medium
and long-term R&D goals, and enabling policies to achieve the same. The roadmap
should emphasize strengthening fertilizer research for development of smart alternate
fertilizers, utilization of unexploited indigenous minerals (glauconite, phosphate
rocks, mica, polyhalite…) and industrial by-products,
increased use of biologicals, exploiting the potential of soil microbiome, improved
composting techniques, crop breeding for enhanced NUE, good agricultural practices
(GAP) involving precision nutrient management integrating fertilizers and organics,
soil health restoration, crop diversification and residue recycling.
It was also emphasized that there is need to launch a Mission
Mode Program to promote Integrated Nutrient Supply and Management (INSAM). The goal
of proposed mission would be to replace at least 25% of current mineral fertilizer
use with organic manures in the next 3 years. An aggressive round-the-year technology
transfer using digital tools such as AI platform Bharat VISTAAR would help largescale
adoption of the proven technologies. Weak extension lays greater emphasis on increasing
fertilizer use and not on its efficient use.
The representatives reached a consensus that a paradigm shift
is needed in the current fertilizer policies, especially bringing urea in the ambit
of nutrient-based subsidy, repurposing fertilizer subsidy as an incentive for adoption
of GAP, linking subsidies with soil health card, and exploring the possibility to
disbursing subsidy to the farmers as direct cash transfer. Availability of cheap
urea is a principal disincentive to make its efficient use or to stop making its
over-use. Proportionally underuse than recommended of more expensive fertilizer
P and K provokes their deficiencies in soil and crops.
Background
Green revolution marked a turning point in India’s agricultural
history which enabled India to transition from food scarcity to self-sufficiency,
marking a structural transformation in agriculture. Fertilizers have been central
to India’s agricultural transformation since the Green Revolution, significantly
increasing food grain production and ensuring national food security.
However, the sector remains heavily import-dependent, especially
for phosphorus and potassium, leading to high foreign exchange outflows and a substantial
subsidy burden, which reached nearly ₹1.71 lakh crore in 2024–25. Inefficient
and imbalanced fertilizer use further constrains productivity, as crops utilize
only a fraction of applied nutrients—about 30–50% of nitrogen, 15–25% of phosphorus,
and 50–60% of potassium—while the remainder is lost through leaching, runoff, volatilization,
or soil fixation. This low nutrient-use efficiency (NUE) increases production costs,
escalates subsidies, and contributes to soil and water degradation.
Total fertilizer (N+P2O5+K2O)
consumption reached 32.93 million tonnes in 2024–25, with a fertilizer use intensity
of 151 kg/ha. The average fertilizer consumption ratio (9.3:3.5:1)is highly skewed towards N. Around 80% of natural gas used
in urea production is imported, further underlining dependence on imports even in
domestically produced fertilizers. The recent development in the west Asia should
not be taken as a short-term supply chain crisis with respect to fertilizers and
raw materials. But, it is a wake-up call to rethink and
realign our policies and R&D priorities towards self reliance.