DV Sadananda Gowda flags off Nano Urea dispatch to Karnataka

New Delhi, 12 June 2021

Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister DV Sadananda Gowda flagged off Nano Urea dispatch to Karnataka today. According to a press release issued by the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd (IFFCO), the minister also promised IFFCO to award land to start a Nano Urea production unit near Bangalore Airport.

“It is a momentous occasion for India where IFFCO is working towards realizing Prime Minister’s dream of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Atmanirbhar Krishi. . . . We will give you a site (land) near (the) airport in Bangalore from where IFFCO can produce Nano Urea in Karnataka,” Gowda said while flagging off NanoUrea dispatch to Karnataka virtually.

In the release, IFFCO said it had earlier requested Gowda to award land for a plant in Karnataka where Nano Urea and Nano DAP could be produced for the southern parts of India.

Dr US Awasthi, Managing Director, IFFCO, said, “The Kalol plant (in Gujarat) is dispatching one truck with 15,000 bottles of Nano Urea per day and soon the plant will dispatch 10 trucks every day.” He also said that the Kalol plant was producing 6750 tonne equivalent of urea per day, which would result in saving Rs 35,000 crore of the government’s subsidy burden and would help farmers earn additional Rs 35,000 crore.

“The plant has started trails of producing Nano Urea and Nano DAP from this Kharif crop and IFFCO is very hopeful of the success. Post which the plant would produce both Nano Urea and Nano DAP,” said Awasthi.

Brijesh Kumar Dikshit, Commissioner of Agriculture, Government of Karnataka; BS Nakai, Chairman, IFFCO; and Dileep Sanghani, Vice Chairman, IFFCO were also present during the virtual flag-off.

The press release says that IFFCO had earlier dispatched Nano Urea shipments to Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. The stocks were sold within half an hour.

IFFCO is already in the process of construction of its plants at its Kalol unit in Gujarat and also at Aonla and Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh in Phase-I by the year 2021-22. The total annual production capacity would be initially 14 crore bottles of 500 ml, which will further be raised to 18 crore bottles.

In Phase-II, says the release, four more plants will be commissioned by the year 2022-23, producing another 18 crore bottles. These non-subsidized bottles will be sold to the farmers, without any subsidy, at a price 10% lower than the price of a 45kg urea bag. The use of this product shall reduce chemical fertilizer consumption, especially that of urea, by 50% or more.

Nano Urea has been tested on over 11000 locations, 94 crops and 20 Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) institutes and State Agricultural Universities. The results showed that nano urea is very useful in increasing not only crop yield but also nutritional quality. The use of Nano Urea by the farmers will improve soil health and reduce the use of chemical fertilizers.

According to the release, Nano Urea is very easy for farmers to use. One 500ml bottle of Nano Urea is sufficient for spraying two times over an acre of field. Now, instead of carrying a 45kg bag of urea on the shoulder, the farmer can easily carry a 500ml bottle of IFFCO Nano Urea to the fields.