Iffco to spend around Rs 80 cr on building model 'nano' villages

In these model villages or clusters, Iffco would undertake focused activities to encourage farmers to adopt nano products such as nano urea and diammonium phosphate

Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (Iffco) is planning to spend nearly Rs 80 crore on setting up 201 model villages in the coming Kharif season to promote the use of nano fertilisers among farmers.

Around 201 nano model villages or clusters have been identified across 21 states for the initiative, perhaps the first of its kind. It will cover an area of approximately 800,000 lakh hectares, sources said.

Iffco will encourage farmers in these model villages to adopt nano products such as nano urea and DAP to promote sustainable agricultural practices.

Already, 201 nano village coordinators have been appointed to undertake surveys and coordinate drone spraying of Iffco nano fertilisers. More than 201 drone entrepreneurs will be providing Kisan drone spraying services in these Iffco nano model villages/clusters.

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Farmers will get monetary benefits in terms of subsidised purchases at the rate of 25 per cent on Iffco Nano Urea Plus, Nano DAP, and other similar products. Additionally, a subsidy of Rs 100 per acre per spray would also be provided to farmers for undertaking drone spraying through Iffco drone entrepreneurs. All the transactions would be mapped digitally through a dedicated web portal, sources said.

Iffco has introduced nano fertilisers like Nano Urea Plus, Nano DAP, Nano Zinc, and Nano Copper to ensure agricultural sustainability. Nano fertilisers are believed to curtail the imbalanced application of conventional chemical fertilisers by up to 50 per cent, enhance the yield and quality of crop produce, and promote residue-free farming.

"IFFCO Nano model villages or cluster projects integrate the benefits of novel nano fertilisers and biostimulants with drone spraying by rural entrepreneurs. It provides an effective platform for the application of alternative fertilisers like nano fertilisers and dissemination of precision and targeted application technology through Kisan drones," an official said.