The company has set up a chain of `Shaktiman Krishi Seva Kendras' to render a single window service to farmers, educating them on modern agricultural techniques and providing them with soil testing facilities, quality seeds and crop protection chemicals. Through these `kendras' it hopes to create a brand equity to stand it in good stead in the times to come. What Indo Gulf has been doingin the north, Nagarjuna Fertilizers is trying to achieve in the south. With its bid to enter into production of potato seeds, Chambal Fertilizers also appears to going the same way.

Why is it that fertilizer manufacturers are increasingly turning customer friendly and paying greater attention to brand building? The obvious answer is that they have realised that fertilizer subsidy will soon become a thing of the past and they will be open to foreign competition. Probably the only competitive advantage that domestic fertiliser manufacturers have vis-a-vis their overseas counterparts is an established marketing network and brand familiarity in the regions where they operate. By strengthening their ties with the farming community, fertilizer majors like Chambal Fertilizers, Indo Gulf Fertilizers and Nagarjuna Fertilizers hope to turn this advantage into a sustainable one.