Adoption of Nano fertilizers in Telangana slower

Claims of numerous benefits coming from the use of the fertilizers from the new technology seem to have yet to make a big impact on the farmers.

Hyderabad: The adoption of Nano fertilizers in the State has been slower than anticipated.

Claims of numerous benefits coming from the use of the fertilizers from the new technology seem to have yet to make a big impact on the farmers. Gaining the acceptability of the farmers for promoting Nano fertilisers had turned out to be a big challenge. Many farmers, like the farmer leader Rakesh Tikait, are highly sceptical of their efficiency. The Centre has been supporting the moves aimed at promoting the use of Nano urea from the IFFCO since 2021, but the acceptability and usage by the farmers is a little over five per cent so far, according to fertiliser dealers in different districts of Telangana.

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They find no big difference between the Nano urea and the conventional urea either cost wise or impact wise. The farmers are yet to experience the improved nutrient efficiency and reduced environmental impact. The use of Nano fertilizers especially the Nano- urea was on the rise of late in the high value farming zones like Aswaraopet in Telangana and its adjoining pockets in Andhra Pradesh. The conventional urea was costing Rs 266 per bag of 40 kg needed per acre. A 500 ml bottle of Nano urea, which is typically sufficient for one acre, costs around Rs 225 to Rs 240. Depending on the crop and growth stages, the farmer might need to apply it two to three times.

A major segment of farmers is yet to be aware of the fact that Nano urea is designed to be more efficient and environmentally friendly compared to traditional urea. It is claimed to be giving higher crop yields and reduced chemical fertilizer usage, said a farmer Peddinti Satyanarayana who had already tasted success with the use of the Nano fertilisers. Now that the union Minister for Finance, Nirmala Sitharaman had indicated in her budget for 2024-25 due support for promotion of the use of Nano di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), the farmers were hopeful that at least the DAP scarcity could be addressed this way.

Another progressive farmer from Nizamabad, M Ganga Reddy, the hesitation for use of Nano fertilisers stemmed more or less from the lack of awareness about the new technology and knowledge for adoption of the new form of liquid fertilisers. This is the era of drones. Drones are the best option for spraying the Nano fertilisers. The farmers were hopeful that the IFFCO or the government concerned would make the drone services available to the farmers in a big way to promote the use of Nano fertilisers, he insisted. Officials of the Agriculture Department are of the opinion that Nanotechnology-based fertilizer developed by IFFCO was designed to provide nitrogen and phosphorus to plants more efficiently, with a higher nutrient utilization efficiency of over 90 percent.

The overall consumption of traditional urea in India had come down from 357 lakh tonnes in FY 2023 to an estimated 327 lakh tonnes in FY 2024. This reduction is attributed to the fact that the farmers had started, though in a modest way, to the adoption of Nano urea. Telangana is in fifth place in fertilizer usage with a sizable 297 kg per hectare.