Imported urea bag of 50 kg is given to farmers at Rs 300, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the prices of fertilizers have increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine, but the government has ensured that farmers in the country do not face scarcity of urea and other inputs.

We will do everything that is required to be done to strengthen farmers, he said at a seminar on co-operatives here. Imported urea bag of 50 kg costs Rs 3,500, it is given to farmers at Rs 300, which means the government spends Rs 3,200 per bag out of its pocket," Modi added.

He also said that villages in Gujarat owe their prosperity to the dairy cooperative movement. The cooperative model is required for the development of villages, the prime minister said.

The newly-launched nano urea liquid has higher nutrient use efficiency, which will boost crop production and increase farmers' income, an official from the Indian Farmers' Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) said on Saturday.

Modi on Saturday virtually inaugurated the world's first nano urea liquid plant by IFFCO near Kalol town of Gujarat's Gandhinagar district.

The nano urea plant has been set up by IFFCO to provide farmers the means to boost productivity and help increase their income.

"Nano urea has higher nutrient use efficiency and aims to reduce soil, water and air pollution. Use of nano urea liquid will lead to substantial increase in farmers' income and it will significantly bring down the logistics and warehousing cost," IFFCO said in a release.

The inspiration to make nano urea came from the prime minister's vision of reducing the use of urea in soil. The liquid fertiliser will be sprayed on plants using drones for better results, IFFCO's managing director Dr U S Awasthi said.

"Nano urea liquid has been found to be very effective in increasing the nutritional quality and productivity of crops and has a huge positive impact on the quality of underground water and environment. Of 3.60 crore bottles of nano urea liquid, which were produced by IFFCO, nearly 2.50 crore bottles have already been sold," Dr Awasthi said.