India must cut fertiliser import dependence, leverage AI and precision tech: ICAR chief

A comprehensive approach spanning short, medium and long-term strategies is needed to reduce India’s dependence on fertiliser imports, ICAR Director General ML Jat said on Tuesday, calling for greater use of artificial intelligence, precision nutrient management and sensor-based systems to optimise fertiliser use.

Addressing mediapersons after a brainstorming session to develop a roadmap for achieving ‘Atmanirbharta’ (self-reliance) in fertilisers, organised by the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) here, Jat said fertilisers were instrumental during the Green Revolution in boosting production, but the current challenge lies in declining fertiliser use efficiency and their indiscriminate application.

He said 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.

Jat said 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.

The session was attended by representatives from concerned government departments, academia, the fertiliser industry and farmers, who unanimously stressed the necessity of self-reliance in the critical sector.Participants advised adopting a multi-pronged strategy with short, medium and long-term research and development goals backed by enabling policies, an official statement said.

The roadmap, they said, should emphasise strengthening fertiliser research for development of smart alternative fertilisers, utilisation of unexploited indigenous minerals such as glauconite, phosphate rocks, mica and polyhalite, increased use of biologicals, exploiting the potential of soil microbiome, improved composting techniques, crop breeding for enhanced nutrient-use efficiency (NUE), and residue recycling.

It was also emphasised that a Mission Mode Programme should be launched to promote Integrated Nutrient Supply and Management (INSAM), with a goal to replace at least 25 per cent of current mineral fertiliser use with organic manures within the next three years.

Participants called for aggressive year-round technology transfer using digital tools such as the AI platform Bharat VISTAAR to enable large-scale adoption of proven technologies, noting that weak extension services tend to promote increased fertiliser use rather than its efficient application.

Representatives reached a consensus that a paradigm shift is needed in current fertiliser policies, particularly bringing urea under the ambit of nutrient-based subsidy, repurposing fertiliser subsidy as an incentive for adoption of good agricultural practices (GAP), linking subsidies with the Soil Health Card, and exploring the possibility of disbursing subsidies to farmers as direct cash transfers.

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, resulting in high foreign exchange outflows.

Total fertiliser consumption reached 32.93 million tonnes in 2024-25, with a fertiliser use intensity of 151 kg per hectare. The average fertiliser consumption ratio of 9.3:3.5:1 remains highly skewed towards nitrogen, experts noted.

Crops currently utilise only a fraction of applied nutrients — about 30 to 50 per cent of nitrogen, 15 to 25 per cent of phosphorus, and 50 to 60 per cent of potassium — while the remainder is lost through leaching, runoff, volatilisation or soil fixation.

Around 80 per cent of natural gas used in urea production is imported, further underlining dependence on imports even in domestically produced fertilisers, the session was told.

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, they said.

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