Page 147 - CW E-Magazine (24-12-2024)

Fertilisers Fertilisers

APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY Seminar 2024, held recently in Delhi, at
ICRISAT patents its fi rst solar-powered water hyacinth the hands of Ms. Anupriya Patel, Mini-
ster of State of Chemicals & Fertilizers
harvester and Health & Family Welfare.

The joint winners were felicitated
The Hyderabad-based International risation of Water Hyacinth Biomass with a memento, a certifi cate and cash
Crop Research Institute for the Semi- through Aerobic Composting as a Rural reward of Rs. 10-lakhs.
Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has been Enterprise – A Waste to Wealth Initia-
granted its fi rst industrial design patent tive,’ supported by the Department of Speaking on the occasion,
in India for a solar-powered water Agriculture and Farmers’ Empower- Mr. S. Sankarasubramanian, Managing
hyacinth harvester developed by a team ment, Government of Odisha. “Experi- Director and CEO, CIL, emphasised
of its scientists. The harvester is simple, ments conducted by ICRISAT demon- the company’s dedication to fostering refl ects our commitment towards pro- ensuring food security for the country
affordable, and can be effi ciently man- strate that 72,000-kg of water hyacinth scientifi c innovation in agriculture. “The motion of research and development and introducing timely sustainable
aged by semi-skilled or unskilled Chemical and biological removal biomass can be mechanically harvested Coromandel Plant Nutrition Award in plant nutrition, a critical area for farming practices.”
personnel. of the weed have proved expensive and from a 3-acre (1.2-hectare) pond in just
effective only in the short term. The only 2-3 days by a team of two or three people. NOVEL FORMULATION
The solar-powered equipment, de- way to control the weed sustainably In contrast, manual harvesting requires
signed and fabricated in-house, is an is through periodic harvesting, either 10-20 labourers and takes 18-20 days to Iffco seeks Govt. nod to launch new nano NPK
affordable solution priced at under manually or mechanically. complete,” said Dr. M. L. Jat, Research
Rs. 200,000, making it ideal for rural Program Director of Resilient Farm and Fertiliser major Iffco, which has adding that this will signifi cantly reduce farmers about how to use these pro-
farming communities that cannot afford According to Dr. Stanford Blade, Food Systems, ICRISAT. introduced nano liquid urea and nano the consumption of urea and DAP ducts along with conventional urea and
sophisticated machinery costing 10 times Director General-Interim of ICRISAT, liquid DAP, has now developed nano NPK (di-ammonium phosphate). DAP.
as much. It offers substantial benefi ts, water hyacinth infestation is a global “Local stakeholders, especially nutrient and sought the Government’s
including 50-60% savings in cost, time, environmental challenge. “This cost- women self-help groups (SHGs), can approval to launch it in the market. The cooperative has invested Nano urea is available at around
and labour, while prioritising using effective harvester refl ects ICRISAT’s play a key role in converting biomass around Rs. 2,000-crore since 2017 on Rs. 240 per bottle (500-ml,) while nano
clean energy. dedication to creating environment- into compost, fi sh feed, or handmade Iffco’s Managing Director, Mr. U.S. nano liquid urea and nano liquid DAP, liquid DAP is priced at Rs 600 per bottle.
friendly solutions tailored to the needs of paper. These women-led enterprises Awasthi said the cooperative will which were launched in June 2021 and One bottle (500-ml) of nano liquid DAP
Water hyacinth infestations in rural communities that are also techno- can generate alternative livelihoods launch nano NPK, which is in granule April 2023, respectively, and is hopeful is equivalent to one bag (50-kg) of con-
rural ponds disrupt ecosystems, harm logically and economically sustainable.” and boost inland fi sheries, creating form, after the necessary approval from farmers will adopt these key nutrients ventional granular DAP. Similarly, one
fi sheries, and block canals. Their rapid signifi cant socio-economic and envi- the government. He also said the com- in a big way over the next 2-3 years. bottle of nano urea is equal to one bag
growth and long-lasting seeds make Turning waste into wealth ronmental impacts,” said Dr. Arabinda pany will produce it at its Kandla unit. Mr. Awasthi said the co-operative is (45-kg) of conventional granular urea.
eradication diffi cult. Just 8-10 plants ICRISAT’s harvester, categorised as Kumar Padhee, Principal Secretary, also investing Rs. 200-crore annually in Iffco currently has annual manufactur-
can proliferate into over 600,000 plants agricultural machinery, was developed Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Iffco will sell this product at Rs. 950 promotion of the two alternative ferti- ing capacity for 16-crore bottles of nano
within 6-8 months. as part of the project ‘Sustainable Valo- Empowerment, Government of Odisha. per bag of 5-kg, Mr. Awasthi said, lisers and increasing awareness among urea and 7-crore bottles of nano DAP.

RECOGNITION FOR INNOVATION India remains dependent on urea imports from China:
Coromandel Plant Nutrition Award presented at FAI Minister

meet Despite the indigenous production trend in the last two years. As per sector and to make India self-suffi cient

of fertilisers, India is still dependent government data, India imported 12.80- in urea,” Ms. Patel said. She said a
The Coromandel Plant Nutrition the Indian Council of Agricultural Dr. Rao’s areas of work included cli- on the import of urea, especially from lakh mt of urea and 12.17-lakh mt of total of six new urea units have been
Award, instituted jointly by Coromandel Research (ICAR). mate change, soil carbon sequestration, China. “The indigenous production of DAP from China in 2022-23. The fi gure set up under NIP-2012. In addition, the
International Ltd. (CIL), a leading rainwater management, and climate fertilisers is not commensurate with the increased in 2023-24 to 18.65-lakh mt government also notifi ed the New Urea
agri-solutions provider in India, in This year’s award was given jointly resilient villages; while Dr. Singh’s work requirement in the country and the gap of urea and 22.28-lakh mt of DAP. Policy (NUP)-2015 on May 25, 2015,
collaboration with The Fertiliser Asso- to Dr. Ch. Srinivasa Rao, Director, focused on system agronomy, conser- is fulfi lled through imports,” said Mini- for the existing 25 gas-based urea units
ciation of India (FAI), to recognise ICAR-National Academy of Agricul- vation agriculture, precision farming, ster of State for Chemical and Fertilizer, “About urea, the government an- with one of the objectives of maximis-
exemplary contributions by scientists tural Research Management, Hyderabad; and farming system. Ms. Anupriya Patel in the Lok Sabha nounced New Investment Policy ing indigenous urea production. She
in the fi eld of plant nutrition and sus- and Dr. Vinod Kumar Singh, Director, on December 13. The import of urea (NIP)-2012 on January 2, 2013, and informed that the import of urea has been
tainable agriculture, was presented ICAR-Central Research Institute for The awards were presented during and Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) its amendment on October 7, 2014, to reduced from 75.80-lmt in 2022- 23 to
to two scientists at institutes under Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad. the inaugural ceremony of FAI Annual from China has registered an increasing facilitate fresh investment in the urea 70.42-lmt in 2023-24.

146 Chemical Weekly December 24, 2024 Chemical Weekly December 24, 2024 147

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