Lok Sabha Question No. 3008 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-08
Subject: Market Development Assistance Scheme
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Unmesh Bhaiyyasaheb Patil, Heena Vijaykumar Gavit, Dayanidhi Maran, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, Krishna Pal Singh Yadav, Sujay Radhakrishna Vikhepatil, Shrikant Eknath Shinde

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3008

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 8 Th  AUGUST, 2023

## MARKET DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE SCHEME

3008. SHRI UNMESH BHAIYYASAHEB PATIL:

DR. HEENA VIJAYKUMAR GAVIT:

SHRI DAYANIDHI MARAN:

PROF. RITA BAHUGUNA JOSHI:

DR. KRISHNA PAL SINGH YADAV:

DR. SUJAY RADHAKRISHNA VIKHE PATIL:

DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ षि एवं ककसान कल्याण मंत्री be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Market Development Assistance (MDA) Scheme aim to increase organic fertilizer production and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the specific measures or incentives that are included in the MDA scheme to promote the  restoration,  nourishment  and  betterment  of  the  planet  alongwith  utilisation  of  funds sanctioned for MDA to promote organic fertilisers;
- (c) the details regarding existing biogas and compressed biogas plants will benefit from the MDA scheme and the kind of support they will receive and the location of these plants and benefits they will avail, itemised State-wise;
- (d) the  percentage of input biogas plants producing as organic fertilizer and the details regarding significance as Fermented Organic Manure (FOM);
- (e) the findings of the ICAR study regarding the benefits of biofertilizers in improving crop yields and supplementing chemical fertilizers;
- (f) whether  the  Government  has  any  plan  to  monitor  and  evaluate  the  outcomes  and effectiveness of the MDA scheme in promoting organic fertilizer production and reducing the import of chemical fertilizers; and
- (g) the data on the number of organic fertilizers brands registered in the country, Statewise?

## MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## कृ षि एवं ककसान कल्याण मंत्री (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

(a) & (b): Government has approved the Market Development Assistance (MDA) @ Rs. 1500/MT to promote organic fertilizers, i.e., manure produced at plants under GOBARdhan initiative  covering  different  Biogas/CBG  support  schemes/  programmes  of  stakeholder Ministries/ Departments such as Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT)  scheme  of  MoPNG,  'Waste  to  Energy'  programme  of  MNRE,  Swachh  Bharat Mission (Rural) of DDWS, etc. with total outlay of Rs. 1451.84 Crore (FY 2023-24 to 202526), which includes a corpus of Rs. 360 Crore for research gap funding, etc. It will promote integrated nutrient management  and  reduce  overuse  of  chemical  fertilizers ensuring sustainability, soil health and better use efficiency of inputs. Government has also approved PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness Generation, Nourishment, and Amelioration of Mother-Earth  (PM-PRANAM).  The  initiative  aims  to  save  the  health  of  Mother  Earth  by promoting sustainable and balanced use of fertilizers, adopting alternate fertilizers, promoting organic farming and implementing resource conservation technologies.

This will incentivize States/UTs to promote alternative fertilizers and balanced use of chemical fertilizers.  This  will  also  incentivize  farmers  to  reduce  the  overall  consumption  of fertilizers for improving soil health, fertility and sustainable productivity.

(c): Ministry  of  Jal  Shakti,  Department  of  Drinking  Water  and  Sanitation  (DDWS)  is implementing  Phase  -  II  of  Swachh  Bharat  Mission  (SBM)  (Grameen)  in  a  mission  mode from  2020-21  to  2024-25.  Galvanizing  Organic  Bio-  Resources-Dhan  (GOBARdhan), launched  in  2018  under  SBM  (G),  is  now  an  integral  component  of  bio  degradable  waste management  under  SBM  (G)  Phase-II  for  ensuring  cleanliness  in  villages  by  converting organic and biodegradable waste including cattle dung, crop residue, market waste etc. into bio-gas and bio-slurry. Financial assistance of upto Rs. 50 lakh per Districts is available for the entire programme period.

DDWS is coordinating the implementation of GOBARdhan initiatives of GoI and has developed  a  unified  registration  portal  for  GOBARdhan.  As  per  Department  of  Fertilizer's Office  Memorandum  dated  18.07.2023  on  policy  on  promotion  of  organic  fertilizers,  only those Compressed Bio Gas (CBG)/ Biogas plants registered on Unified Registration Portal for GOBARdhan shall be eligible for the Market Development assistance @ Rs 1500/MT.

As on date, 941 Biogas plants and 335 CBG/Bio-CNG plants under various categories viz. Functional, Completed, Under Construction and Yet to start have been registered on the Unified Registration Portal for GOBARdhan (https://gobardhan.co.in/ )

(d): As per information received from Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, for a biogas plant of 2cum capacity, typically 25% of input added to the plant is converted into biogas, while about 75% is obtained in the form of liquid slurry that may be used as bio-fertilizer. This ratio of input/output may change depending upon capacity of the plant and other operational parameters.

The  by-products  of  CBG  plant  are  Fermented  Organic  Manure  (FOM)  and  Liquid Fermented Organic Manure which are considered as rich source of plant nutrients and used as supplements to chemical fertilizers for plant nutrition and hence widely used in agriculture. The application of FOM improves soil health and fertility as well as sustainable productivity. Being rich source of carbon and Nitrogen Phosphorus and Potassium (NPK), FOM is widely used  by  the  farmers.  The  quality  standard  of  FOM  has  been  specified  under Fertilizer (Control) Order (FCO), 1985.

(e): ICAR has developed improved and efficient strains of bio-fertilizers specific to different crops  and  soil  types.  Besides,  it  has  developed  technology  to  prepare  various  types  of organic  manures  such  as phosphor-compost,  vermin-compost, bio-enriched compost, municipal  solid  waste  compost,  etc.  from  various  organic  wastes.  Bio-fertilizers improved crop yields by 10-25% in different crops and therefore supplement costly chemical fertilizers (nitrogen  and  phosphorus)  by  nearly  20-25%  in  most  of  the  cases  when  used  along  with chemical fertilizers.   When bio-fertilizers are applied along with compost @ 5t/ha or vermicompost  @  4t/ha,  fertilizer  saving  will  be  upto  50%.   Therefore,  ICAR  recommends integrated use of fertilizers and manures.

(f): A  Steering  Committee  has  been  constituted  to  oversee  operational  aspects  and detailed guidelines for Market Development Assistance (MDA) to promote organic fertilizers; PM Programme for Restoration,  Awareness  Generation,  Nourishment  and  Amelioration  of Mother Earth (PM-PRANAM); and Sulphur Coated Urea with the name of Urea Gold.

(g): The  Government  of  India  under  the Fertilizer  (Control)  Order,  1985 specified  the specification of organic fertilizer under their scientific /generic name and not specified it under their  brand  name . 10  organic  fertilizers  namely;  City  Compost,  Vermicompost,  Phosphate Rich Organic Manure (PROM), Organic Manure, Bio-enriched Organic Manure, Bone meal (raw), Bone meal (steamed), Potash derived from Rhodophytes, Fermented Organic Manure and Liquid Fermented Organic manure have been notified and their quality standards have been specified under Fertilizer (Control) Order (FCO), 1985 .

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