Big push to nano-DAP as govt allows its commercial release

New Delhi: In a major decision aimed at reducing the cost of agricultural inputs, the Agriculture Ministry has approved the commercial release of nano-diammonium phosphate (nano-DAP) citing its long term benefits to the farmers on the lines of nano urea.

As per sources, the approval of nano-DAP would prove to be a major milestone towards reducing the subsidy and import dependency of the fertiliser variety.

The sources further said that nano-DAP will be manufactured by India Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) and Coromandel International. The official notification in this regard will be issued soon, they said, adding that IFFCO would be selling a 500 ml bottle of nano-DAP at around Rs 600-650 which will have the same effectiveness of a bag of conventional soil nutrient variety. The nano-DAP manufactured by Coromandel International would be little costly as it would be available in three bottles, which will have the same effectiveness of a bag of conventional soil nutrient variety.

“It’s a very progressive decision taken in the interest of farmers. The nan-DAP will not only help in increasing the yield of crop, it would also reduce the cost burden as a bottle of 500 ml nano-DAP will replace the conventional bag of DAP which is now costing farmers at Rs 1,350,” a senior official in the ministry said.

“It will also bring down the fertilizer subsidy as the actual cost of conventional DAP is Rs 4,000, which is being made available to farmers at Rs 1,350. The gap between actual cost and rate at which DAP is being made available to farmers is borne by the government under fertiliser subsidy head,” the official said.

Notably, the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), which is the research arm of the Agriculture Ministry, had earlier recommended provisional release of nano-DAP for one-year following completion of biosafety and toxicity studies.

Explaining about the benefits of nano urea over conventional urea, the official said, “In the surveys conducted by different agencies, it has been found that nano-urea is more effective, while in the case of conventional urea, weeds too get nutrient support along with plants. Farmers using nano-urea need not to spray weedicides in fields.”

The official further said that the efficiency of nano urea is more than 80 percent as compared to around 40 percent of conventional urea and use of nano urea increases yield by 3-16 per cent. It’s worth mentioning that India is completely dependent on other countries to meet more than half of the country’s DAP requirements. Given that main sources of DAP are West Asia and Jordan, India imports about 25 percent of its annual consumption of the fertilizer variant.

Union Fertiliser Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had stated in December last year that wider use of nano-urea and nano-DAP would help in significant reduction of the fertiliser subsidy incurred by the government in the next couple of years.