Balanced Fertilizer – Careers Ready

Reference

Balanced fertilization will be the main policy goal for the new government after the Lok Sabha elections.

related facts

Record consumption of urea in the financial year 2023-2024 35.8 million tonnes (mt) It has reached 30.6 million tonnes, which is 16.9% more than 30.6 million tonnes in the year 2013-14.

balanced fertilizer

• in the soil for the production of many crops Nitrogen, Phosphate and Potash Such nutrients are required.
• According to the requirement of soil or crop, Use of nutrients in correct proportion 'Balanced Fertilizer' Is called.

• Objective
  • To remove the deficiency of nutrients in the soil and improve the quality of crops.
  • To maintain the fertility of the soil and improve the fertility of the soil which has become infertile due to the use of unbalanced fertilizers.
• Need: Farmers are required to control excess use of only primary nutrient based fertilizers like urea, di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and muriate of potash (MOP).
• Initiative
  • Nutrient-Based Subsidy (NBS) system
    • The government has banned subsidy on any fertilizer. Nutrient content (N, P, K and S per kilogram) Has been decided on the basis of.
    • Objective: To stimulate product innovation and encourage farmers to use complex fertilizers containing N, P, K, S and other nutrients in place of urea, DAP (18% N and 46% P content) and MOP (60% K). .
  • Neem Coated Urea
    • The system of mandatory neem coating for all urea was started from the year 2015 and its objective is Plywood, dye, animal feed and synthetic milk manufacturers Such as restricting the illegal use of highly subsidized urea for non-agricultural uses.
    • neem oil nitrification inhibitor It also acts as a Nitrification Inhibitor, as a result the production of nitrogen slows down.
    • Improvement in nitrogen use efficiency has resulted in reduction in the quantity of urea required per acre and the government has reduced the urea bag size from 50 kg to 45 kg in the year 2018.
  • Measures for price control of non-urea fertilizers: The Department of Fertilizers (DoF) has fixed the indirect MRP (Maximum Retail Price) of non-urea fertilizers in the new guidelines, as a result the profit of the companies has been limited.
    • Through this, maximum profit has been determined, which the fertilizer companies will have to follow. 8% profit for importers, 10% for manufacturers and 12% for integrated manufacturers has been fixed.
  • Sulfur Coated Urea: The central government recently Sulphur-coated urea containing 37% N and 17% S Thus, the price of sulphur-coated urea has increased by 12.5% ​​as compared to the price of neem coated urea.

Challenges

• Problem with Pricing: Price controls on non-urea fertilizers have led to increased nutrient imbalance, due to which di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) has emerged as the new urea and farmers are using both the fertilizers excessively.
  • For example, the current MRP of DAP is Rs 1,350 per 50 kg, while NPKS complex fertilizers with 10:26:26:0 and 12:32:16:0 composition are priced at Rs 1,470.
• Unaffordable Muriate of Potash (MOP): MOP is priced at Rs 1,650 each in retail stores, so it is expensive for farmers to use, and it is also a challenge for companies to incorporate MOP into NPKS complex fertilizer.
  • For example, the most used Complex fertilizer does not contain potassium (20:20:0:13). Because potassium increases the immunity of crops against pests and diseases as well as the absorption of nitrogen.
• NBS failure: The reason for the failure of the NBS scheme was that urea was not included in it. The MRP of urea is controlled by the government, resulting in an increase of only 16.5 per cent in the prices of NBS, making it cheaper and used by farmers in large quantities.

• Dependence on Imports: India is dependent on imports for all types of fertilizers. Due to high global prices of fertilizers, the country's foreign exchange expenditure and subsidy burden on the government also increases.

Control measures and need

• Making a sequence of prices of fertilizers: This price hierarchy can be ensured by pricing DAP highest among non-urea fertilizers, MOP lowest and complex fertilizers in between.
• Controlled use of DAP: DAP is mainly rice and wheat production Also, other crops can compensate for P deficiency through complex fertilizers and SSP.
• Increasing Acceptability: DAP should be manufactured in granular form instead of powder. Granular DAP is less likely to be mixed with gypsum or clay, and phosphorus production is slowed during use.
• Review of MRP of fertilizers: Under this, urea can be included in NBS and subsidy rates on other nutrients can be increased, which will reduce the impact of significant increase in MRP.
• Super Phosphate: The government should promote the use of super phosphate in the country which Supply of P, S and Calcium Is an important source of.