Improving Efficiency of Fertiliser Use in India

Why in News?

Rising global geopolitical instability (E.g., tensions in West Asia, Russia-Ukraine War) has disrupted fertiliser and energy markets. This has exposed India’s heavy import dependence and inefficiencies in fertiliser subsidies. This necessitates urgent reforms to ensure food security and fiscal sustainability.

India’s Fertiliser Scenario: 

• India is one of the world’s largest consumers of fertilisers. Total fertiliser consumption has increased from ~1.1 million tonnes (FY67) to about ~32-33 million tonnes (FY24). 

Global supply disruptions directly affect India’s subsidy burden and food security. It is estimated that the government’s fertiliser subsidy bill for 2026-27 may surge by ₹70,000 crore to ₹2.41 lakh crore, driven by rising import costs of urea and other fertilisers amid the ongoing West Asia crisis.

What is Fertiliser Use Efficiency?

• Fertiliser Use Efficiency (FUE) refers to producing a higher crop yield per kilogram of fertiliser used, or maintaining crop yield while reducing fertiliser application.
• Low efficiency means a substantial portion of fertilisers is lost through:
  • Air pollution
  • Water contamination
  • Soil degradation
  • Greenhouse gas emissions

Major Challenges in Fertiliser Use in India: 

• Excessive and Imbalanced Fertiliser Use: India has witnessed disproportionate use of urea compared to phosphorus and potassium. The reasons include heavily subsidised urea, a distorted pricing structure and procurement incentives favouring cereal crops.
• The Fertiliser Trap: The overuse of chemical fertilisers creates a vicious cycle:
  • Excess fertiliser degrades soil quality
  • Soil loses its nutrient retention capacity
  • Farmers apply more fertiliser to maintain yields
  • Fertiliser demand keeps rising
• Inefficiencies in the Subsidy Regime: The Nutrient-Based Subsidy (NBS) Scheme was introduced to encourage balanced fertiliser use. However, Urea was excluded from NBS, and urea prices remained artificially low. The scheme failed to substantially improve fertiliser-use efficiency.
• Limited Success of Neem-Coated Urea: Neem-coated urea was introduced to reduce the diversion of urea and improve nitrogen-use efficiency. However, substantial nitrogen losses still occur through ammonia volatilisation.
• Crop Procurement Bias: Although MSP is announced for more than 20 crops, effective procurement is concentrated mainly in rice, wheat and sugarcane. These crops consume over two-thirds of India’s urea. As a result, it discourages crop diversification, weakens pulse-based crop rotations and intensifies fertiliser dependence. 
• Environmental and Health Impacts: 
  • Air Pollution: Large quantities of urea volatilise as ammonia. Nitrogen fertilisers also contribute to nitrous oxide emissions, a potent greenhouse gas.
  • Water Pollution: Runoff from phosphatic fertilisers causes eutrophication of water bodies. Groundwater contamination increases health risks.

Dalhan Aatmanirbharta Mission:

• The government launched the Dalhan Aatmanirbharta Mission in 2025.
• Target production: ₹11,440 crore allocated to scale production to 350 lakh tonnes/year within five years. 
• Assured procurement: MSP procurement of Tur, Urad, and Masoor for four years 
• Concerns: Despite the initiative, the Pulse cultivation area increased only marginally (1.26% in 2026). This remains inadequate compared to the decline witnessed during previous years.

The Policy Disconnect & Need for Inter-Ministerial Convergence:

One major issue is the lack of coordination and siloed approach among the Agriculture Ministry, the Fertiliser Ministry, the Food Ministry and the Rural Development agencies. E.g., 

• Food Policy (MSP): MSP schemes historically guarantee procurement for water-intensive cereals like paddy and wheat. This drives farmers to grow these crops regardless of regional soil suitability.
• Fertiliser Policy: Urea is heavily subsidised at Rs. 242 per 45 kg bag. This pricing disparity encourages excessive and imbalanced nitrogen application over phosphorus and potassium.
• Soil Health Policy: The Agriculture Ministry promotes balanced nutrition and organic farming through the Soil Health Card Programme. In practice, its impact is limited because farmers continue to rely on subsidised urea-driven incentives. Advisory recommendations are not strongly linked to subsidy or procurement policy. 

Way Forward: 

• Promote pulse-legume crop rotations: Legumes fix atmospheric nitrogen and require zero to 10% of the urea used by cereals. Pulse-cereal rotations sustained agriculture for millennia before synthetic fertilisers.
• Expand Organics: Triple recycling of manure, compost, and biochar to replace fertilisers as a basal dose; synthetic inputs used only as a top-up. Trials show up to 50% reduction with no yield loss.
• Revise fertiliser recommendations: Prioritise locally available organic sources before chemical inputs.
• Invest in better varieties: India’s rice germplasm can double nitrogen-use efficiency (grain yield per unit urea). Focus on the adoption of improved existing varieties over capital-intensive technologies.
• Strengthen MSP procurement for Pulses: Better implementation of the Dalhan Aatmanirbharta Mission (2025); pulse area grew only 1.26% in 2026 vs a 10% decline from 2021-22 to 2024-25. Pulses naturally fix atmospheric nitrogen through symbiotic bacteria in their root nodules. 
• Revive the Nitrogen Steering Committee: To ensure the inter-sectoral coordination required for integrated farming system reforms.

Also Read: https://anantamias.com/current-affairs/need-to-reform-fertiliser-policy/ 

India’s fertiliser inefficiency is not merely a pricing issue but a coordination failure across input (fertiliser), output (MSP), and ecological (soil health) policies. This necessitates a shift towards an integrated nutrient governance framework.