An audit conducted by the Department of Fertilisers has revealed that the application of nano urea can reduce the use of nitrogen in the range of 25-50%. This outcome not only contributes to significant savings for the government, estimated at approximately USD 3 billion annually on subsidy bills, but also reduces India’s dependence on urea imports.
What are Nano Fertilisers?
Simply put, nano fertilisers are highly efficient types of fertilisers that provide essential nutrients such as nitrogen to crops through tiny granules. Nitrogen plays a crucial role in plant functions, making urea one of the most concentrated sources of this nutrient.
The Advent of Nano Urea Liquid
In 2022, the Indian Farmers and Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) developed nano urea liquid with the objective to replace conventional urea and reduce its requirement by 50%. Ever since its inception, the government has been vigorously promoting the use of nano fertilisers.
The Importance of Nano Fertilisers
Nano fertilisers offer numerous advantages. This includes efficient delivery of nutrients by exploiting the nanoscale porous domains on plant surfaces, improved effectiveness of nitrogen delivery, and reduced environmental impact. They are also cost-effective, helping to increase farmers’ income by significantly bringing down the cost of logistics and warehousing. A small bottle of 500 millilitres nano urea spray can substitute a full bag of 45 kilogrammes of urea.
Making Crops Stronger and Healthier
An additional advantage of nano urea is it reduces the excess use of urea in the soil, thereby leading to stronger, healthier crops. It also helps protect the crops from the lodging effect, a phenomenon where the stems of grain crops bend over near ground level, making them difficult to harvest and resulting in potentially dramatic yield reductions.
Challenges Encountered
Despite the numerous advantages, nano fertilisers also face certain hurdles. The cost of producing these fertilisers is higher than that of conventional fertilisers due to the advanced technology and production methods required, which often makes them unaffordable for small-scale farmers. Furthermore, there is a lack of standardized regulations for production and distribution, leading to inconsistent quality control measures. Environmental concerns such as the long-term effects on soil health, water quality, and ecosystem balance also need to be addressed.
The Role of Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO)
IFFCO is one of India’s largest cooperative societies, owned completely by Indian Cooperatives. Founded in 1967 with just 57 cooperatives, it has now grown into an amalgamation of over 36,000 Indian Cooperatives with diverse business interests ranging from General Insurance to Rural Telecom. Their primary business, however, remains the manufacturing and selling of fertilisers. The objective of IFFCO is to enable Indian farmers to prosper through timely supply of reliable, high-quality agricultural inputs and services in an environmentally sustainable manner.
Nano Fertilisers: Concluding Thoughts
Nano fertilisers hold great potential to enhance crop yields, decrease input costs for farmers, and provide significant savings for the government on subsidy bills and urea imports. However, more research is needed to explore their long-term effects on nutritional quality, bio-safety, efficacy, and reliability. A thorough audit of field trials is also required to establish the effectiveness and safety of using nano fertilisers on crops.
