Explained: Why Nano Urea and DAP fertilisers are game changers in the agricultural sector?

The Centre has approved the launch of nano liquid DAP (di-ammonium phosphate) fertiliser for the benefits of farmers and making the country self-reliant, Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday said.

"After nano urea, the government has now given approval to nano DAP as well," Mandaviya said in a tweet. He tweeted that this is one more achievement towards achieving self sufficiency in fertilisers. This is going to benefit farmers, Mandaviya said.

Fertiliser cooperative IFFCO, which introduced nano liquid urea in 2021, on Friday announced that the government has approved the launch of its nano DAP fertiliser in the market.

IFFCO managing director U S Awasthi tweeted that the IFFCO Nano DAP has been approved by the ministry of agriculture and notified in the Fertiliser Control Order (FCO) based on it's encouraging results. "IFFCO will manufacture #NanoDAP; a game changer for Indian agriculture & economy," he tweeted.

Why it is going to be a game changer?

In December, Awasthi had said IFFCO would soon launch nano DAP at Rs 600 per 500-ml bottle, a move that will help India save foreign exchange and also reduce government subsidy significantly. One bottle will be equivalent to one bag of DAP, which currently costs Rs 1,350.

Nano DAP LIQUID is a unique foliar formulation that supplies nano Nitrogen (8.0 per cent) and Phosphorus (16.0 per cent) to crops. It is suitable for all crops as Seed Primer, Growth Enhancer, Productivity and Quality Booster. Nano DAP use efficiency is more than 90 per cent under optimum conditions. Application of nano DAP reduces the requirement of conventional DAP and other phosphatic fertilizers while decreasing farmers' input cost as well as the pollution of Soil, Air and Water. Its benefits are that it increases seed germination and improves root development along with reducing fertilizer cost and increasing farmers' income, according to ANI report.

IFFCO is also planning to launch nano-potash, nano-zinc and nano-copper fertilisers, he had said.

In June 2021, IFFCO launched nano urea in liquid form as an alternative to conventional urea. It has set up many manufacturing plants in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh to produce nano urea.

There is no government subsidy on nano urea and it is being sold at Rs 240 per bottle. For conventional urea, the government provides a huge subsidy to ensure that the farmers get the soil nutrient at a reasonable price.

The country's domestic urea production is around 26 million tonnes, while demand is about 35 million tonnes. The gap is met through imports.

India also imports DAP and MoP (muriate of potash) in huge quantities to meet its domestic demand.

Nano Urea

Nano Urea is a Nanofertilizers that contains nano nitrogen particles of size range (20-50 nm) dispersed in water. Total nitrogen concentration in one bottle of Nano Urea (liquid) is 4 % (40,000 ppm).

In a series of tweets, Shobha Karandlaje, Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare, explained why this is going to be a game changer. Earlier, whenever a poor farmer had to bring home urea to use it for cultivation, they had to bring it on their own, from miles away, carrying it on their bicycle. This process would entirely exhaust them - given the conditions of the roads earlier, she said.

"It was nearly impossible for a poor farmer to get more than 5 bags of urea at a time. With nano urea, this preposition completely changes. A bottle of Nano urea (500 ml) = A bag of urea (45 - 50 kgs)! Now, the farmers can simply carry multiple bottles of nano urea......in a single bag and with the implementation of PM Gram Sadak Yojana, gone are the days where farmers had to struggle to get their bicycles running smoothly!" she claimed in the tweets.

She added, Unlike the traditional urea, which used to adversely affect the soil quality with passage of time. But nano urea is sprinkled on the surface of the leaves of the plants and not on the soil directly.

According to Karandlaje, there are two benefits that the farmers derive from this; first they don't have to spread urea granules with their bare hands, damaging their hands. and second, the health of the soil also remains intact as urea doesn't directly reach the soil.

Nano Urea gives higher crop yields, thus, ensuring increased income for farmers. Also, farmers can order it online.