India needs fertiliser pricing reforms to restore soil health: Paper

ICRIER paper calls for rational fertiliser pricing, targeted support and site-specific solutions to restore soil health, improve crop nutrition and address India's persistent malnutrition challenge

India needs to urgently restore the health of its soils to improve crop health and human nutrition through a combination of approaches, including policies for rationalising fertiliser pricing, a new paper said. It also called for the development of precise, customised and site-specific fertilisation solutions, complemented by appropriate agronomic practices.

 

The paper, which forms part of an ICRIER policy brief, has been written by agriculture economists Ashok Gulati, Sachchida Nand, Ritika Juneja and Bishwabara Sahu. It called for a paradigm shift anchored in the three Ps — policy, products and practices.

 

It said a policy shift towards rational fertiliser pricing and targeted support to farmers can catalyse the development and adoption of precise, customised and site-specific fertilisation solutions, underpinned by rigorous research and development, soil diagnostics and crop-specific nutrient requirements.

   

These products, when complemented by appropriate agronomic practices, can restore soil biological, chemical and physical health.

 

“Only when soils are adequately nourished can they consistently produce food that sustains health rather than merely alleviates hunger. Ensuring healthy soils is therefore not just an agricultural priority, but a public health imperative critical to India’s long-term development,” the paper said.

 

India, one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, sustains nearly 17 per cent of the global population on about 2.4 per cent of the world’s geographical area and has recorded a remarkable increase in foodgrain production — from 82 million tonnes (mt) in 1960–61 to nearly 357.7 mt in 2024–25.

 

The country is now the world’s largest exporter of rice, shipping 20.2 mt in FY25 out of a global trade of 61 mt.

 

At the same time, India operates the world’s largest food distribution programme, the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY), providing 5 kg of free rice or wheat per person per month to more than 800 million people.

 

These gains have coincided with a sharp decline in poverty, with the extreme poverty headcount falling from 27.1 per cent in 2011 to 5.3 per cent in 2022.

 

Yet, despite surplus food availability and expanded access, malnutrition — particularly among children — remains a persistent challenge. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5 (2019–21) reports that 35.5 per cent of children under five are stunted, 32.1 per cent are underweight and 19.3 per cent are wasted.

 

These outcomes underscore that food security in India can no longer be defined solely in terms of caloric adequacy; it must also address nutritional quality.

 

The paper said a critical but often overlooked determinant of nutritional security is soil health.

 

Deficiencies of micronutrients in soils not only constrain crop productivity but also reduce the nutrient density of food, it added.

 

Crops grown on depleted soils frequently reflect these deficiencies, giving rise to a silent and widespread form of malnutrition.

 

Zinc deficiency offers a clear example, the paper said. Low zinc availability in soils leads to reduced zinc content in staple cereals such as wheat and rice, which is strongly associated with childhood stunting and long-term impairments in physical and cognitive development.