The Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) has started production of commercial Nano Urea Liquid, its patented smart fertilizer, and dispatched the first consignment to Uttar Pradesh for the use of farmers. IFFCO has developed the novel fertilizer at its Nano Biotechnology Research Center, Kalol in Gujarat, according to an official release.
The product was introduced on May 31 by Dr U.s Awasthi, MD, IFFCO during the 50th annual general body meeting of its RGS members at IFFCO Head Office, New Delhi. The green flag-off ceremony was done on Sunday at Kalol, Gujarat. Dilip Shangani, Vice-chairman, IFFCO said that “ IFFCO Nano Urea is a product of 21st century and it is the need of the hour to keep the environment-soil, sir and water safe for future generations while securing food for all”.
The process of construction of Nano Urea Plants at IFFCO’s units at Kalol (in Gujarat) and Aonla and Phulpur (in Utter Pradesh) has already been initiated by IFFCO. In Phase-I, the annual production capacity of 14 crore bottles is being installed which should be ramped to additional 18 crore bottles in Phase-II by the year 2023. These 32 crore bottles are expected to potentially replace 1.37 crore MT of Urea by the year 2023.
“Loss of nutrients from fields by way of leaching and gaseous emissions has been contributing to environmental pollution and climate change. This can be reduced by the application of Nano Urea which has no residual effect. Urea forms 82 per cent of the total nitrogenous fertilizer consumed in India and it has recorded an exponential increase in consumption over the years. It is expected that urea consumption will touch 35 MT during 2020-21, the release stated.
Around 30-50 per cent of Nitrogen from Urea is utilized by plants and the rest gets wasted due to quick chemical transformation as a result of leaching, volatilization, and runoff, thereby low use efficiency. The excess application of urea contributes to the greenhouse gas in form of nitrous oxide lead to Global Warming.
The release further stated that Nano Urea Liquid addresses environmental concerns caused currently by conventional urea such as emission of greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide, ammonia emission, acidification of soil, and eutrophication in water bodies. It is required in lesser measure compared to the conventional urea fertilizer to the fulfil plant’s nitrogen requirement.
“Nano Urea has been tested for biosafety and toxicity as per the guidelines of Department Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India and international guidelines developed by OECD which are adopted and accepted globally. Nano Urea liquid is completely safe for humans, animals, birds, rhizosphere organisms, and environment at the recommended levels of application,” the release said.
IFFCO Nano Urea is a giant step towards sustainable agriculture and food systems with a step towards precision and smart farming.
