How to make Urea more efficient as a fertilizer

Subject : Geography

Section: Physical geography

Context:

Recently, the PM of India officially launched ‘Urea Gold’ fertilizer – basically urea fortified with sulphur, developed by the state-owned Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd (RCF).

What is UREA Gold:

‘Urea Gold’ is a new fertilizer launched by the Indian Prime Minister and developed by Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd.
It’s made up of 37% Nitrogen and 17% sulphur.
This combination addresses the sulphur deficiency in Indian soils, particularly beneficial for oilseeds and pulses.
It offers a more gradual release of Nitrogen, ensuring plants remain green longer. This means farmers might need fewer applications, possibly using two bags instead of three for crops like paddy or wheat.

Why is Urea consumption a concern in India:

Urea consumption in India has increased from 26.7 million tonnes in 2009-10 to 35.7 million tonnes in 2022-23. Despite measures like mandatory neem coating and reduced bag sizes, there’s been a noticeable uptrend in consumption since 2017-18.
Out of the 35.7 million tonnes consumed last fiscal year, 7.6 million tonnes were imported. Even domestically-produced urea relies heavily on imported natural gas as its primary feedstock
The Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) of urea in India is worrying. Only 35% of the Nitrogen applied through urea is actually used by crops. The remaining 65% is lost, either released as ammonia gas or leached into the ground as nitrate.

What are the Government Efforts to Reduce Urea Consumption in India:

The introduction of the nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) regime in 2010.
- Under NBS, the government fixed a per-kg subsidy (unlike the earlier product-specific subsidy regime) for each fertilizer nutrient: Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potash (K) and sulphur (S).
- It aims to promote balanced fertilization by discouraging farmers from applying too much urea (46% N), di-ammonium phosphate (DAP – 46% P plus 18% N) and muriate of potash (MOP – 60% K).
Implementing the DBT system, the government directly provides fertilizer subsidies into farmers’ bank accounts.
In 2015, the Centre made it mandatory to coat all indigenously manufactured and imported urea with neem oil.
This was followed by replacing 50-kg bags with 45-kg ones in 2018, and the launch of liquid ‘Nano Urea’ by the Indian Farmers’ Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) in 2021.
- Liquid nano urea is essentially urea in the form of a nanoparticle aimed at reducing the unbalanced and indiscriminate use of conventional urea, increasing crop productivity, and reducing soil, water, and air pollution.