While the government decides on how to reduce the fertiliser subsidy, it may actually be time to charge the fertiliser companies for using their product! A presentation by Fertiliser Secretary JS Sarma points out that, not only has there been a steady decline in the productivity response to increased fertiliser usage over the years, this has now fallen to below one in recent years "" that is, the returns are negative. This is primarily due to the reduction in soil nutrients "" the subsidy regime is applicable only to 15 fertilisers which contain the major nutrients, N, P and K. It appears 98 per cent of fertilisers sold in the country contain only the major nutrients. From 5.99 million tonnnes today, the deficit in nutrients is projected to rise to 10.84 tonnes in another five years. So, apart from finding ways to reduce the fertiliser subsidy, the other task before the government is to find ways to ensure other nutrients get used as well.
