The idea of ushering in balanced use of vital plant nutrients through the nutrient-based fertiliser subsidy regime (NBS) has come to a near halt due to the inordinate delay in deregulation of urea.
Farm experts and economists believe this has pushed the country to the days when urea (which majorly contains nitrogen) was the most popular plant nutrient. This could have a serious impact on the nutrient balance in soil and an indirect impact on the crop production. Nitrogen makes plants bigger and greener, but does little to improve yield, while its balanced use along with potassium and phosphorus is the best way to improve crop yields.
Earlier, the fertiliser ratio was heavily skewed in favour of urea because of the massive subsidy it enjoyed. Currently, a vast price difference between its counterparts — di-ammonia phosphate (DAP) and muriate of potassium (MOP) — has titled the balance in favour of urea.
A paper presented at a seminar of the Fertiliser Association of India showed the nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium (NPK) ratio in the country was 10:4:1 in 2011-2012. Ideally, this should be 4:2:1 for a healthy soil structure.
Prior to NBS regime, the ratio was heavily skewed in favour of nitrogen because of the unabashed use of urea. April 2010, the nutrient consumption ratio was at 4.6:2:1, while in 2010-11, the ratio witnessed wider distortion at 4.7:2.3:1.
The government decided to embark on a nutrient-based fertiliser subsidy regime in April 2010 with the twin objective of correcting the growing imbalance in soil, pushed by excessive use of urea and to bring down its annual subsidy bill, by making the prices more market-linked.
Also Read
While it may have achieved relative success in the first, that is to bring down the fertiliser subsidy burden, it has miserably failed on the other, to usher in a balanced regime.
Between 2009-10 and 2012-13, the government's annual fertiliser subsidy dropped from Rs 61,264 crore to Rs 60,974 crore, according to Budget documents.
From March 2010, the government raised the price of urea by 9.9 per cent, while companies raised the price of DAP and MOP by a staggering 157 per cent and 282 per cent, respectively.
| CHANGING PATTERN Price change in urea, DAP and MOP (Rs/ tonne) | ||||||
| Mar,’10 | Apr,’10 | Apr,’11 | May,’12 | Jul,’12 | % Change* | |
| Urea | 4,830 | 5,310 | 5,310 | 5,310 | 5,310 | 9.9 |
| DAP | 9,350 | 9,950 | 10,750 | 22,000 | 24,000 | 157.0 |
| MOP | 4,455 | 5,055 | 6,000 | 14,000 | 17,000 | 282.0 |
| NOTE: The government decontrolled prices of DAP and MOP in April 2010 , but left it for urea. It, however, raised its prices by 10% ; * % change July 2012 over Mar 2010 Source: Department of Fertilisers and Industry | ||||||
Apart from balanced use, one of the objectives of nutrient-based fertiliser regime was to encourage companies to mix micro-nutrients like zinc and magnesium in phosphoric and potassium fertilisers like DAP and MOP.
"Though companies raised prices of fertilisers, there is not much evidence of their incorporating micro-nutrients in their products,” P K Joshi, South Asia director of International Food Policy Research Institute said.
He said if the NBS regime would have been taken in the right spirit, it would have immensely helped farmland in the Indo-Gangetic plains (in states like Punjab, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh) as the soil in these areas is deficient of micro-nutrients.
“Large parts of farmland still use urea, while the use of DAP and MOP is less,” Joshi lamented.
Ramesh Chand, director of National Centre For Agricultural Economics and Policy Research (NCAP), said the nutrient-based subsidy regime and the dream of ushering in a balanced use of fertiliser by reducing the role of urea has remained only on paper.
“Relative price change and change in ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium has not happened,” he said.
The change will not happen unless the government decontrols urea prices and brings it under NBS or conversely brings back the subsidy regime in phosphorus and potassium as existed before April 2010.
While, the latter is unrealistic, the former is easier to do.