‘Cut fertiliser use through crop shift’

EAC-PM Chairman urges crop diversification, natural farming and productivity-linked incentives to reduce fertiliser use and improve soil health

Commodity Desk MUMBAI

Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) Chairman S Mahendra Dev on Tuesday called for urgent measures to reduce India’s dependence on chemical fertilisers through crop diversification, wider adoption of natural farming and productivity-linked incentives.

Addressing the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) India Innovative Crop Nutrition Conclave 2026 in the national capital, Dev said Indian agriculture must become more diversified, nutritious, sustainable and climate-resilient to support the country’s ambition of becoming a developed nation by 2047. 

He said the agriculture sector would play a crucial role in India’s long-term growth and stressed the need to improve not only crop productivity but also post-harvest management and marketing efficiency.

Expressing concern over high fertiliser consumption, Dev noted that the ongoing West Asia conflict has created supply disruptions and increased the government’s subsidy burden.  However, he said global urea prices have declined sharply, offering some relief. “India is diversifying sources of imports and trying to increase domestic production,” Dev said.

India imported more than 100 lakh tonnes of urea in the last fiscal year to meet domestic demand, underscoring the country’s continued reliance on overseas supplies. Dev pointed out that several states and districts continue to use excessively high levels of fertilisers per hectare.  He said shifting cultivation towards less fertiliser-intensive crops such as millets, pulses and oilseeds could significantly reduce chemical fertiliser use.

He also advocated expanding organic and natural farming practices to improve long-term agricultural sustainability.  Highlighting policy progress, Dev said India’s fertiliser sector reforms have moved in the right direction.  As the next step, Dev proposed a National Nutrient Use Efficiency Initiative focused on measuring fertiliser productivity rather than total consumption.  He suggested district-level efficiency benchmarking, crop-wise nutrient productivity targets and incentive grants linked to measurable outcomes. Dev said technology could play a major role in this transition. 

He recommended using AgriStack, satellite mapping, soil health card data, PM-KISAN records and digital land records to create scientifically prescribed nutrient budgets for farms.

Emphasising soil restoration, Dev said future productivity gains would increasingly depend on healthier soil biology.  He added that AI, IoT, drone spraying and precision fertigation are becoming essential tools for sustainable farming in fertiliser-intensive regions.