Indian agriculture, like the rest of the world, has for decades, focussed solely on productivity. This was primarily because India wanted to be self-sufficient in food cultivation and move away as far as possible from imports for our daily needs. But this emphasis on increased production also brought in a major ingredient in Indian agriculture – mineral fertilisers.
This focus was given a new face in 1965 by the late Dr MS Swaminathan when he, inspired by the then government’s push on increased agricultural production, started the Green Revolution with the primary focus on how to rapidly increase production of grains like wheat and rice and alleviate hunger in India. It also laid emphasis on modernising Indian agriculture by promoting the use of high-yielding varieties of seeds, and modern irrigation. But the key ingredient that changed the paradigm of tradition agriculture was mineral fertilisers.
Yes, India’s agricultural yield increased significantly, but that came for a cost. And a significant one at that. Increasing use of mineral fertiliser adversely affected the very base of Indian agriculture–soil. Mineral fertilisers resulted in large scale soil degradation through reduced fertility, groundwater contamination, and destruction of beneficial soil micro-organisms. It reduced organic matter and created nutrient imbalances.
Quickly, India became the world’s second-largest consumer of mineral fertilizers, and, India’s annual consumption has reached a level of more than 70 million metric tonnes in terms of products. Of this, urea forms the largest chunk accounting for almost 50%, apart from NP/NPKs fertilisers. Import dependency of raw materials/intermediates/feedstock or finished products has been to a great extent.
At the Fertiliser Association of India (FAI), we are seriously concerned about the soil degradation as it has a serious long-term impact on the soil health which can threaten future production. The answer to this, while keeping the cultivation at the present or higher levels, is through a balanced strategy of integrated nutrient management that promotes the use of bio-fertilisers alongside mineral fertilisers to ensure sustainable soil health and provide a balanced soil nutrient management.
Bio-fertilisers have an inherent advantage. Unlike mineral fertilisers, which are made of mineral elements, Bio-fertilisers contain living microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, or algae. When they are applied to soil or plants, they lead to higher growth of plants by providing essential nutrients and microorganisms, thereby improving soil health also.
These microorganisms are essential to the functioning of integrated nutrient management, as they regulate nutrient transformations, improve solubility and bio availability, and facilitate nutrient release in the rhizosphere, thereby facilitating uptake of nutrients by plants. However, realising the full potential of bio-fertilisers requires strengthened R&D efforts, targeted technology development and robust industrial infrastructure, along with improved research extension linkages and decentralised production system.
Bio-fertilizers fix atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia (converting it to NH4+ and NO3 forms for plant uptake), mineralize organic nitrogen and sulphur, and solubilize/mobilise insoluble phosphorus, potassium, and zinc. While strengthening soil growth, they also synthesise plant growth regulators like indole-3-acetic acid, that stimulates root growth and plant vigour, while releasing organic acids and chelating agents that liberate trapped nutrients.
Strains like bio-fertilisers function as soil engineers that actively restore degraded land. They work in tandem with larger soil organisms, such as earthworms, whose guts act as bioreactors, to rapidly multiply beneficial microbial populations. Also, bio-fertilisers are eco-friendly, and non-polluting and they protect the soil by retaining the natural nutrient cycle and enhance soil fertility. So, from a sustainability or ESG angle also, they serve as a fitting candidate. And these benefits are long-term.
Unfortunately, the share of bio-fertilisers in Indian agriculture is considerably less compared to mineral fertilisers. A low shelf-life because of presence of living micro-organisms, is a deterrent for this. But it is also a fact that bio-fertilisers can never replace mineral ones as they typically only increase yields by 10 to 20% and save nutrients to a similar extent. They have to be integrated into broader scientific models alongside other fertilisers. The solution may lie in finding a median blend of both which brings in economies of scale, price and productivity.
India’s bio-fertiliser market is also slated to grow from $110.07 million in 2022 to $243.61 million by 2029, a growth of 12.02%, which will bring some supply relief, but a longer-term practical view has to be taken of its viability in Indian agriculture.
The Indian government is also alert on this development and has launched several schemes to promote bio-fertilizers, like the PM-PRANAM (PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment, and Amelioration of Mother Earth), and the National Mission on Natural Farming to promote use of bio-fertilisers. Alongside, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research has developed improved bio-fertilizer strains specific to various crops and soil types. It has also developed a liquid biofertiliser technology which have a higher shelf-life compared to traditional fertilisers.
One thing is clear. The government has given clear signals that to attain self-sufficiency in foodgrains, maintaining soil health is of paramount importance. And this can only be done by increasing use of biofertilisers which has moved forward from being an option to a necessity.
(The views expressed are personal)
This article is authored by Suresh Kumar Chaudhari, director general, Fertiliser Association of India (FAI).
