After introducing nano liquid urea, cooperative IFFCO aims to launch nano DAP fertiliser in the market soon at Rs 600 per 500 ml bottle -- a move that will help India save foreign exchange and also reduce government subsidy significantly.
IFFCO is also planning to launch nano-potash, nano-zinc and nano-copper fertilisers, its Managing Director U S Awasthi said while addressing an agriculture conference organised in New Delhi by Rural Voice to mark the 2nd anniversary of the digital media platform.
In June 2021, cooperative IFFCO launched nano urea in liquid form as an alternative to conventional urea. It has also set up manufacturing plants to produce nano urea.
Awasthi said IFFCO has produced 5 crore bottles of nano urea so far, out of which 4.85 crore bottles have already been sold. He highlighted that the price of nano urea is less than conventional urea and it is also more effective and convenient.
There is no government subsidy on nano urea and it is being sold at Rs 240 per bottle. For conventional urea, the government provides a huge subsidy to ensure that the farmers get the soil nutrient at a reasonable price.
Awasthi said the company has developed nano DAP (di-ammonium phosphate) as well and has already applied for government approval for introducing this product in the market.
He announced that nano-DAP will be sold at Rs 600 per bottle of 500 ml. One bottle will be equivalent to one bag of DAP, which costs Rs 1,350.
On the sidelines of the event, Awasthi said the co-operative hopes to get the government approval by the end of next month.
In the next 4-5 years, he said, there would be huge savings in foreign exchange as imports of urea and DAP might not be required.
Awasthi said the government's fertilisers subsidy bill would come down drastically as nano-fertilisers would be sold in the market without any subsidy.
The fertiliser subsidy bill for the current fiscal is estimated at around Rs 2.25-2.5 lakh crore as against about Rs 1.6 lakh crore last year.
Speaking at the event, Sanjeev Balyan, Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, also highlighted the benefits of nano urea.
He said farmers' welfare can be ensured through adoption of technology.
Balyan stressed on reducing input costs to boost farmers' income.
Earlier this year, Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Mansukh Mandaviya had said that India might not need to import urea after 2025 as domestic production of conventional and nano liquid urea could be sufficient to meet domestic demand.
By FY'25, around 440 million bottles of 500 ml nano urea will be produced. This will be equivalent to around 20 million tonnes of urea. It will take care of the 9 million tonnes that India imports annually.
The country's domestic urea production is around 26 million tonnes, while demand is about 35 million tonnes. The gap is met through imports.
India also imports DAP and MoP (muriate of potash) in huge quantities to meet its domestic demand