Lok Sabha Question No. 2300 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-29
Subject: Usage of Nitrogenous Fertilizers
Ministry: CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS
Asked by: Brijendra Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS DEPARTMENT OF FERTILIZERS

## LOK SABHA

UN STARRED QUESTION NO. 2300 TO BE ANSWERED ON : 29.07.2022

## Usage of Nitogenous Fertilizers

2300:  SHRI BRIJENDRA SINGH:

Will the Minister of CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the excessive usage of Nitrogenous Fertilisers (NFs) adversely impact the environment and human health;
- (d) if the steps being taken to direct the farmers towards other alternatives and reduce their reliance on NFs in these States? SO,
- if so, the details of the environment-friendly alternatives available in the market; () whether the food-producing States of Punjab and Haryana have fared poorly in the NITI Aayog India Index 2021 in terms of exceeding the usage limit of NFs; and

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR STATE FOR CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS (SHRI BHAGWANTH KHUBA)

(a) & (b): As such, there is no adverse effect of chemical fertilizers with balanced and judicious use However, there is possibility of nitrate contamination in ground water above the   permissible limit of 10 mg NO3-NIL due to excessive use of nitrogenous fertilizers particularly in light textured soils that has consequence on human health if used for drinking purpose.

Government advocates the concept of balanced and integrated use of fertilizers on the basis of soil test recommendations and encourages their judicious use\_ Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is recommending soil test based balanced and integrated nutrient management   through conjunctive use of both inorganic and organic sources (manure, bio-fertilizers, green manuring etc) of plant nutrients with 4Rs approach i.e. right quantity, right time, right mode and right type of fertilizers and to reduce use of chemical fertilizers. In addition, split application, use of slow releasing fertilizers including neem coated urea and growing leguminous crops, use of Resource Conservation Technologies (RCTs) etc are also advocated. ICAR also imparts training to educate farmers on all these aspects.

(c) & (d): NITI Aayog undertakes ranking of states on indicators to measure the progress on Sustainable Development Goals One such indicator is the percentage use of   nitrogenous fertilizer out of total N, P, K (Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium) under Goal 12 on Responsible Production and Consumption: The percentage use of nitrogenous fertilizer out of total N, P K (Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium) for Punjab and Haryana is 78.89 and 75.84 respectively: The India value for the same indicator is 64.39%. key

NITI Aayog has been   working continuously for the   promotion of Natural Farming; a form of chemical-free farming based on livestock and locally  available resources through many initiatives. National-level consultations   involving various stakeholders including State Government officials and farmers were organized multiple times since 2018. In order to promote adoption and instill confidence amongst the farmi community and all relevant stakeholders , a bilingual compendium of success stories of natural farming containing 110 success stories from 13 states  including Punjab and Haryana was published by NITI Aayog: ing

Government has been implementing Paramparagat Krishi Vikas   Yojana (PKVY) to promote organic farming: PKVY is implemented in all the States and Union Territories across the country to promote organic farming in cluster mode\_