Growth of the Indian Fertiliser Industry
The Indian fertilizer industry has undergone significant changes and developments since the green revolution. During this time, modern agricultural practices, including fertilizers, helped increase food production in India and contributed to the country’s economic growth. Since then, the Indian fertilizer industry has grown significantly and now plays a crucial role in meeting the country’s growing demand for food. With a production of 43.5 million metric tonnes (MT) and the import of 20.5 million MT of finished fertilisers FY 20-21, India is currently the second largest Consumer of fertiliser in the world after China. The annual requirement of fertilizers in the country is in the range of 60 to 67 million MT. The sale of total fertilizers at 67.6 million MT during 2020-21. The raw materials and intermediates for production of nitrogenous and phosphatic fertilizers are largely imported. Since the nation has no sources or reserves in the country, all of its needs are met through imports.
The post-Green Revolution period witnessed a change in environmental conditions and the status of existing natural resources. These changes have led to a need for more sustainable approaches to agriculture that can address these issues and ensure long-term food security. The improper use of chemical fertilizers with low nutrient use efficiency (NUE) has caused a slow deterioration in soil fertility, and significantly damaged the productivity and sustainability of agriculture. To achieve the triple wins of food security, environmental protection and climate change adaptation & mitigation the application of fertilizers must be carefully managed. One of the most important ways to do this is by using best management practices that help achieve high Nutrient Use Efficiency (NUE).
Nutrient Efficiency
NUE is a significant metric in evaluating crop production and consequently increasing farmer well-being. It can be adversely affected by how you manage your soil, irrigation, and fertiliser. By applying nutrients at the proper rate, time, and location with the appropriate agronomic techniques, fertiliser best management practices can increase NUE. Farmers must select the best nutrient management practices according to the source of nutrients, crop need and application rate. All of these processes communicate with one another As a result, the effectiveness of nutrients depends on the complete system.
India’s present nutrient use efficiency for Nitrogen, Phosphorous and MOP is 30-50%, 15-20% and60-70%, respectively. Unused nitrogen is lost by several processes, including leaching, denitrification, volatilization, etc, contaminating groundwater and the atmosphere. In the same way, considerable amounts of P and K get fixed in the soil. Hence NUE is a large area where the global and Indian fertilizer industry is investing a lot of time and resources to bring about improvements.
Balance nutrition is another crucial area where Industry need to work as plant nutrients in a balanced ratio help crops to achieve optimum crop yields that can feed the expanding population. Improved technologies involving effective nutrient management strategies are the need of the hour to accomplish the targeted food grain production while balancing the stability of the agriculture system, farmers’ income, and feeding the growing population of the country.
New Fertilisers
It is important that the Indian fertiliser industry should concentrate on developing new fertilisers that will support balanced nutrition and improve nutrient usage efficiency, in order to make the agriculture sector more environmentally friendly and sustainable. It is essential to educate farmers about this technology in order for them to quickly adopt it.
To meet its demand for finished fertiliser products and raw ingredients, India is heavily dependent on imports. The costs of finished fertiliser products, raw materials, feedstock, and intermediates fluctuate considerably on the global market every year. The current situation calls for creating new, inventive, and efficient products. For Indian agriculture to flourish, a balanced nutrition approach and fertilisers with high nutrient use efficiency are essential.
