Fertiliser self-sufficiency a distant goal

Consumption to rise 20% till 2024; neem coating and direct benefits transfer not yet proven successful

“Can our farmers, the sons of our soil, make a resolve that by the year 2022, when we complete 75 years of our independence, they will cut urea usage to half of what is being used now?” Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked in his monthly radio broadcast, Mann Ki Baat, on November 26.

India’s fertiliser consumption is going to rise by more than 20 per cent in the next decade, estimates from the Fertiliser Association of India show. The nitrogenous (N) component would reach 20 MT, the phosphatic (P) component to 9.2 MT, and the potassic (K) component to 4.2 MT