Sharp fall in use of chemical fertilizers

A farm worker applying fertilizer at a paddy field near Thrissur, Kerala on February 16, 2011.The promotion of fertilizer production and use in order to increase crop yields has been a major objective of farmer over the years. Selecting products and implementing practices that improve fertilizer-use efficiency and effective use of the proper fertilizer has increased crop yield by many folds, yet population continues to increase and the provision of an adequate supply of food remains a challenge. Photo: K_K_Mustafah 16/02/2011

There has been a considerable fall in the use of synthetic fertilizers during the last financial year compared with the previous year, observed the delegates at a meeting of the Fertilizer Association of India, Southern Region, here on Wednesday.

The meeting, which was held at the Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore’s Ambalamedu campus here, observed that poor rainfall in some of the States could be one of the reasons for the fall in the use of fertilizers.

The meeting of the officials from the Fertilizer Association also took stock of the market situation in South India as a whole, said a press release issued here.

The participants expressed the view that the fall in the price of commodities such as natural rubber had also resulted in lower fertilizer consumption levels.

Director general of the Fertilizer Association, Satheesh Chander, who inaugurated the meeting, said that the synthetic fertilizer industry in the country was facing a crisis-like situation. Most of the fertilizer companies were in trouble owing to various factors. However, urea production in the country had gone up to 24.5 million tonnes during the last financial year from the previous level of 22 million tonnes.

He said that the price of urea was much lower in the country when compared with other fertilizers.

This was one of the reasons for the crisis-like situation, he said.

Chairman and managing director of FACT and FAI Southern Region chairman, Jaiveer Srivastava, presided over the meeting. A.B. Khare, chairman and managing director of Madras Fertilizers, and Customs Commissioner K. N. Raghavan offered felicitations, the press release said. Y. V. N. Moorthy, FAI regional executive, made the preliminary introductions.

R. Satheesh, a young farmer from Palakkad, was honoured at the meeting. Mr. Srivastava was re-elected the southern region chairman of FAI at the meeting.

‘The synthetic fertilizer industry in the country is facing a crisis-like situation’