Government to unveil new holistic fertiliser policy: Ananth Kumar

With an aim to achieve sustainable growth in food production and incorporate global best practices in fertiliser usage, the centre in planning to bring out a new fertiliser policy for the country. The government proposes to come out with a new holistic fertiliser policy, said Ananth Kumar, Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers, while speaking at the 4^th National Conference on Agrochemicals 2014, in New Delhi today. He added that such a decision was taken after directions from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard at a recent review meeting on the subject.
 
Kumar said that a task force of experts in the field will be constituted to frame such a policy soon. This could provide for a national platform for farmers to use bio-fertilisers. Elaborating on the theme for the conference, ‘Agrochemicals for ensuring food and nutritional security of the nation’, he said the green revolution of 60s and 70s was not a holistic, but a truncated revolution. Expressing serious concern at irrational usage of fertilisers, he said, this could have an adverse affect for achieving a sustainable food and nutritional security for the nation.
 
Kumar said that his ministry proposes to recommend it to the Department of Agriculture for banning a pesticide which is being harmful to the bees and which was earlier banned in the US and some other countries. He said we need to follow global best practices even in such areas to make a paradigm shift for sustainable food and nutrition security by removing disturbing anomalies.
 
The Minister said that the Government proposes to bring forward the pending Pesticides Management Bill, 2008 in the next Winter Session of the Parliament.
 
Even while calling for increased research and development (R&D) in the field of bio-fertilisers, the Minister for Chemicals & Fertilisers said that his ministry is following it up with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for allocating more gas to increase fertiliser production in the country. The Ministry is also trying to revive the sick and closed fertiliser units in the public sector, he added.
 
Kumar called for further development in the pesticides production, which is already the fourth largest in the world, to achieve unrealised potential of the country and to further boost exports in the sector.
 
In his key-note address, Rik L Miller, Global President, DuPont Crop Production Pvt Ltd, has said that innovations, investments and critical collaborations for R&D is very important in the sector.