Growth booster nano-DAP's production may kick off in Paradeep soon

Fertiliser major Iffco is likely to start producing nano-di ammonia phosphate (DAP) at its Paradeep plant in Odisha in the next few months and proceed to other units, sources said.

The detailed production plan and other targets are being finalised.
 

Senior government officials had expressed the opinion if all clearances came in time, nano-DAP should be available to farmers in the forthcoming kharif season or even earlier.
 

Kharif sowing starts in June with the southwest monsoon setting in.
 

According to the company’s website, Iffco’s Paradeep plant has an annual production capacity of 2.31 million tonnes of sulphuric acid, 870,000 tonnes of phosphoric acid, and 1.92 million tonnes of DAP. DAP is the most consumed fertiliser in the country after urea. Of the estimated annual consumption of 10-12.5 million tonnes, local production is four-five million tonnes while the rest is imported.
 

The Centre on Saturday cleared the decks for a quick commercial application of nano-DAP, which is the second fertiliser on the nano platform, after nano-urea was launched a few years ago, under the Fertiliser Control Order. The order regulates the sale, prices, distribution and other formalities relating to fertilisers. 
 

Iffco, in association with private player Coromandel, is manufacturing nano-DAP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the approval, saying that it was a big step in making the lives of farmers easy.
 

Apart from other benefits, nano-DAP could lead to substantial savings in domestic subsidies and foreign exchange, experts have said. This is because a 500-litre bottle of nano-DAP is expected to be priced at around Rs 600, which is half the present subsidised rate of a 50-kg bag of DAP, which costs around Rs 1,350. 
 

Apart from subsidy savings, officials said nano-DAP had other intrinsic benefits.
 

Its unique foliar formulation supplies nano-nitrogen (8.0 per cent) and phosphorus (16.0 per cent) to crops.
 

That apart, nano-DAP is suitable for all crops as seed primer, growth enhancer, and productivity and quality booster.

Official sources said under optimum conditions, nano-DAP had a nutrient-use efficiency (NUE) of more than 90 per cent.
 

Tests have found that nano-DAP leads to increase in seed germination and vigorous seedling growth, improves root development and plant growth, enhances crop productivity and quality, reduces fertiliser cost, etc. Plus, there is ease of transportation and storage because it comes in bottles.
 

For FY24, the Central government kept the fertiliser subsidy at more than Rs 1.71 trillion, of which urea subsidy was estimated at about Rs 1.31 trillion and the rest for non-urea fertilisers.
 

In FY23, the revised subsidy for both urea and non-urea fertilisers was estimated at more than Rs 2.25 trillion.