Nano urea potential

It can materially cut fertiliser import dependence

The indication from the government that India would not need to import urea by 2025 could not have come at a more opportune moment, given that the global prices of this most-consumed fertiliser have soared to new highs and its availability has dwindled due to the Russian-Ukraine conflict and export cuts by China and other countries. The international urea prices are currently ruling at their highest level since the 2008 food and financial crisis. So are, in fact, the prices of phosphatic and potassic fertilisers, for which the country’s reliance on imports is even higher than that for urea. As a result, the fertiliser subsidy in the current fiscal year is projected to exceed Rs 2.5 trillion, surpassing last fiscal year’s record of Rs 1.62 trillion by a big margin. Higher indigenous production, more efficient use of fertilisers, and promoting organic sources of plant nutrients are the only means to rein in burgeoning subsidy burden.

That said, the fact also is that self-sufficiency in urea has been on the cards ever since the introduction of the new urea policy in 2015, which focused primarily on maximising domestic output, promoting energy efficiency in urea manufacturing, and reviving the defunct fertiliser plants. The evolution of “nano urea”, which is substantially more potent than the conventional material, came as an additional bonanza in this respect. This new-generation urea, which condenses one bag equivalent of urea into a tiny bottle of 500 ml liquid, further speeded up the march towards shedding reliance on imports of this key farm input. The cooperative sector fertiliser giant, IFFCO, must be given due credit for pioneering and promoting nano-urea technology, which has already proved its worth as a game-changer.

The production capacity of nano urea is likely to swell from the present 50 million bottles (each containing 500 ml liquid) to over 440 million bottles with the commissioning of the under-construction nano urea plants. Moreover, the resurrected fertiliser plants at Ramagundam, Talcher, Gorakhpur, Sindri and Barauni, and a few new ones at other sites are also expected to begin producing to their full capacity. Indeed, many analysts believe that India should now be looking forward to exporting urea rather than importing it, by capitalising on its huge nano urea production potential. The breakthrough in nano technology has also opened up opportunities for the production of nano di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), which is the second-largest in consumption and highly import-dependent farm input. This product, currently in advanced stages of development, is expected to bring down the cost of DAP by half.

The significance of these innovations goes far beyond alleviating import-dependence for fertilisers. They offer multiple advantages, ranging from cost reduction and supply augmentation to the much-needed improvement in fertiliser-use efficiency and rise in farmers’ income. Studies have shown that while nutrient consumption by plants (read nutrient-use efficiency) is only 25-30 per cent in the case of conventional fertilisers, it rises to 90 per cent for nano products, thereby pushing up crop yields perceptibly. Additionally, the use of nano urea and DAP helps reduce the soil, air, and water pollution attributable to chemical fertilisers. With such developments being on the horizon, India may well be on the cusp of transmuting from a bulk importer to a net exporter of plant nutrients.