New fertilizer plan may not help soil: Experts

New Delhi: The new nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) regime cleared by the Union Cabinet on Thursday is likely to slash the government’s subsidy bill and boost fertilizer production. But one of the major stated aims of the policy – that of promoting a more balanced use of fertilizers by farmers – may not be actualized unless other measures are implemented in tandem.
That seems to be the view of many agriculture experts and economists, who reacted to the government’s announcement of decontrolling the prices of all fertilizers, except nitrogen-based urea, from April 1 this year.
The policy, in part, seeks to address the problem with the existing subsidy regime, which is skewed in favour of urea, leading to its overuse by farmers to the detriment of other essential nutrients. By decontrolling the prices of potassic (K) and phosphatic (P) fertilizers, but still having a lever of control through a system of fixed subsidy, the government hopes to keep the relative prices of these nutrients low as compared to urea.