On April 26, 2023, Union Minister Amit Shah, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Cooperation, launched “IFFCO Nano DAP(liquid)”, the world’s first liquid Nano DAP(Diammonium phosphate), developed by Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) at NewDelhi, Delhi
- The launch of IFFCO Nano DAP (Liquid), a nano fertiliser product containing nitrogen and phosphorus is intended to make India self-reliant in the field of food production and fertilizers.
Background: On March 3, 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW) approved the launch of IFFCO’s nano DAP fertilizer in the market.
What is Liquid DAP?
- DAP is a concentrated phosphate-based fertilizer. Phosphorus is an essential nutrient along with Nitrogen and plays a vital role in the development of new plant tissues. It fulfills the crops initial requirement of nitrogen and phosphorous.
- Liquid DAP contains 8% nitrogen and 16% phosphorous.
Key Points:
i.The launch of Nano DAP is a second initiative of IFFCO, i.e. in 2021, IFFCO introduced World’s First ‘Nano Urea’.
ii.IFFCO has registered a patent, under which IFFCO will get 20% royalty on the sale of Liquid Urea and Liquid DAP anywhere in the world for 20 years.
iii.Nano-DAP is being jointly manufactured by IFFCO in association with a private player Coromandel.
iv.Nano DAP will be sold at Rs 600 per bottle of 500 ml. One bottle will be equivalent to one bag of DAP, which currently costs Rs 1,350.
v.The effect of one bottle of 500 ml on the crop is equivalent to that of 45 kg bag of granular urea.
Target Set for Liquid DAP:
i.A goal has been set to reduce the usage of granular DAP by about 90 lakh metric tons through liquid DAP. 18 crore liquid DAP bottles were planned to be produced.
ii.The usage of liquid DAP will help reduce the usage of granular urea by about 14% and that of DAP initially by 6% and later by 20%.
iii.It will lead to saving in foreign exchange reserves of the country, improvement in plant nutrition and 100% availability of nutrients in the soil.
iv.There will also be a reduction in the expenditure incurred by the farmers, that of around 6% in wheat and about a 20% reduction in the production of potato and sugarcane.
Benefits of using Liquid Nano DAP:
i.Spraying of liquid DAP on the plant will support in increasing both the quality and quantity of production as well in the conservation of the land.
- Existing case: For example, the Potato growing farmers of Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh used about 8 bags of DAP per acre of land, which increased the production but polluted the land and the farm produce.
- Change over: But the liquid DAP will contribute in restoring the fertility of land and will reduce the threat to the health caused by the chemical fertilizers.
ii.By using liquid DAP and liquid urea, the farmers could increase the number of earthworms in their land and move towards natural farming without reducing production and income.
Farmers were directed to use more effective liquid Nano Urea and DAP instead of granular urea and DAP as the granular urea damages the land as well as the crop and the health of the people.
Points to be noted:
i.As per the statement of Amit Shah, around 384 lakh metric tonnes of fertilizer is produced in India out of which cooperative societies produced 132 lakh metric tonnes.
ii.Out of this 132 Lakh metric tonnes of fertilizer, IFFCO has produced 90 Lakh metric tonnes.
iii.Cooperative societies like IFFCO, KRIBHCO (Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited) have a major contribution in India’s self-reliance in the fields of fertilizer, milk production and marketing.
Progress of Nano Urea:
i.Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given approval to Nano Urea on February 24, 2021 and the infrastructure to make about 17 crore Nano Urea bottles has been set up in 2023.
ii.Marketing of Nano Urea started in August 2021 and about 6.3 crore bottles have been manufactured till March 2023.
iii.Due to this manufacture, the consumption and import has been reduced by 6.3 crore urea bags and helped in saving the country’s revenue and foreign currency.
iv.The import of urea in the country has also decreased by seven lakh metric tonnes in 2021-22.
Creation of PACS:
i.To strengthen the Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), the ministry of Cooperation decided to create a new multi-dimensional PACS for the next 5 years in 2 lakh panchayats of India
ii.Model bye-laws of PACS have been sent to the states and 17 states have also adopted those model bye-laws.
Note – Gyanesh Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation, and Chairman, IFFCO, Shri Dilip Sanghani were also present on the launch occasion.
Recent Related News:
The Prime Minister (PM) of India Narendra Modi inaugurated the world’s first nano urea liquid plant by Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) at Kalol, Gujarat. This facility was dedicated to the nation during a ceremony held at the Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar in Gujarat.
About Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited(IFFCO):
Chairman– Dileep Sanghani
Managing Director & CEO– Dr Udai Shanker Awasthi
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi
