Biofertilizers are a niche input, but interest is being driven by supply uncertainty, promotion of sustainable farming by the Indian government and concerns over soil degradation
By Uzmi Athar
/ AFP, TAPPAL, India
Under a shed in north India, women scoop cow dung, lumps of unrefined sugar and flour to produce biofertilizer — part of a growing effort to tackle anxieties over the supply of chemical fertilizers.Demand for the organic blend has risen in the country in the past few weeks as farmers prepare for the monsoon planting season, with concerns mounting over the availability of diammonium phosphate (DAP), a key ingredient in chemical fertilizer.India is among the world’s largest consumers of chemical fertilizers, using roughly 63 million tonnes annually, but the Middle East conflict has strained shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for supplies, heightening unease among farmers ahead of the sowing period from next month to October.
Neetu, a farmer, sprinkles organic biofertilizer in a field in Bichpuri, India, on June 9.
