Securing fertilisers, ensuring food safety

The timely availability of subsidised crop nutrients is critical to the country’s food security. Millions of farmers depend on cheap farm chemicals to grow ample food grains, which, in turn, enable the government to provide nearly 800 million people with subsidised grains. The government deserves praise for two reasons. One, despite high global prices in 2022-23 due to a supply shock from the Ukraine conflict, the fertiliser ministry has managed the supply and sourcing of key crop chemicals. Two, it did not shy away from stretching its subsidy limits, setting aside fiscal concerns in the interests of food security. The actual subsidy spending that year was nearly ₹2.5 lakh crore, way higher than the Union Budget estimates of ₹1.05 lakh crore.

The Centre has also diversified India’s import sources and signed long-term contracts for mineral shipments required for making a range of fertilisers. At the same time, it needs to pay some urgent regulatory attention. It is not rare for farmers to complain about substandard fertiliser admixtures, even fake ones. The government must step up vigilance and crack down on spurious products.