The previous UPA government introduced the so-called nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) regime in fertilisers from April 2010. The Narendra Modi government made it mandatory to coat all urea with neem oil since December 2015 and replaced 50 kg bags with 45 kg from March 2018. None of these measures — or even the much-talked-about Nano Urea — have succeeded in their stated goal of achieving balanced fertilisation. On the contrary, sales of urea, the primary cause of worsening plant nutrient imbalance and deteriorating soil health, have crossed an all time high 35.7 million tonnes (mt) in 2022-23. Urea consumption has gone up by over a third compared to the pre-NBS year of 2009-10. Far from discouraging nitrogen use at the expense of other primary, secondary and micro nutrients, farmers are over-applying urea. This, when there is clear evidence of declining nitrogen use efficiency and crop yield response to fertilisers.
The reason for such skewed nutrient use is simple: The maximum retail price (MRP) of urea has been unchanged at Rs 5,628 per tonne since November 2012. Given the corresponding per-tonne MRPs of Rs 27,000 for di-ammonium phosphate, Rs 34,000 for muriate of potash and Rs 28,000-31,000 for most complexes, why would farmers apply less urea? The various solutions currently offered — from Nano Urea to incorporation of compounds that reduce ammonia volatilisation and nitrate leaching — skirt the real issue of rampant overuse from underpricing. While diesel, petrol and LPG aren’t under-priced like before — they are, in fact, net taxed — urea has continued to be a political hot potato for successive governments. And one cannot expect anything substantial in this regard, till at least next year’s general elections.
