India Seen to Reduce Fertiliser Import Dependence Through AI and Precision Technology: ICAR Director

India's Fertiliser Dependence: Experts Call for Comprehensive Approach

To reduce India's dependence on fertiliser imports, a comprehensive approach spanning short, medium and long-term strategies is necessary, according to ICAR Director General M L Jat. This approach should incorporate the use of artificial intelligence, precision nutrient management, and sensor-based systems to optimise fertiliser use.

Fertilisers played a crucial role in the Green Revolution, boosting production in India. However, the current challenge lies in declining fertiliser use efficiency and their indiscriminate application. To address this, strengthening initiatives like the Soil Health Card scheme, promoting balanced and need-based fertiliser application, and enhancing awareness among farmers are important steps in the right direction.

Crop diversification towards pulses and oilseeds, recycling organic waste under the Waste-to-Wealth initiative, and increasing the use of biological sources would further contribute to reducing dependence on chemical fertilisers. This multi-pronged strategy should be backed by enabling policies and short, medium, and long-term research and development goals.

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A roadmap for achieving 'Atmanirbharta' (self-reliance) in fertilisers, organised by the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), brought together representatives from concerned government departments, academia, the fertiliser industry, and farmers. They unanimously stressed the necessity of self-reliance in the critical sector.

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The session highlighted the need for a paradigm shift in current fertiliser policies, particularly bringing urea under the ambit of nutrient-based subsidy and repurposing fertiliser subsidy as an incentive for adoption of good agricultural practices (GAP). Subsidies should be linked to the Soil Health Card, and the possibility of disbursing subsidies to farmers as direct cash transfers should be explored.

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India's fertiliser subsidy burden reached nearly Rs 1.71 lakh crore in 2024-25, driven largely by heavy import dependence, especially for phosphorus and potassium. Total fertiliser consumption reached 32.93 million tonnes in 2024-25, with a fertiliser use intensity of 151 kg per hectare.

Experts cautioned that geopolitical conflicts, export restrictions, and supply chain disruptions directly affect fertiliser availability and pricing, posing serious risks to food security. The recent crisis owing to conflicts in West Asia should not be treated as a short-term supply chain issue but rather as a wake-up call to rethink and realign policies and research and development priorities to sustain agricultural and food security.

India has set a target of achieving Atmanirbhar Bharat by 2047, with the agricultural sector expected to play a pivotal role in the journey.