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: In a significant move to prevent indiscriminate use of fertiliser by farmers and attract new investment into the sector, the government on Monday proposed to move towards a nutrient based subsidy regime for fertilisers from the current product pricing regime. The move will result in the supply of ‘innovative fertiliser products in the market at reasonable prices’, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee observed. “The direct fertiliser subsidy to the farmer is a reformist measure that has been on the anvil for quite some time, but implementation might be tricky,” said Amir Ullah Khan, director, research, Bangalore Management Academy.
At present, the government controls the pricing of key fertilisers and offer funds to companies as fertiliser subsidy to compensate them for selling key farm nutrients at the rates determined by it. “We have been trying to draw attention of the all concerned to the depleting soil health and need to use restore the secondary and micro nutrient status of soil,” US Awathi, managing director, IFFCO, said.
The country's fertiliser subsidy bill rose to a record Rs 1,17,000 crore in 2008-09 from only Rs 45,659 crore the previous fiscal, due to unprecedented rise in the prices of farm nutrients early last fiscal.
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