The huge government subsidy of Rs 12,000 crore is not only a financial millstone around our neck. By encouraging unrestrained use of fertilisers it is destroying our soils and agriculture. More and more farmers themselves are questioning the policy, having experienced a host of problems with unrestricted and sustained fertiliser use. Many agricultural scientists too are voicing doubts over whether fertilisers play a useful role any more even if they did at some point. Is it time, they say, to consider alternatives that may be more feasible and sustainable from ecological, financial, and other perspectives. Read more
How fertilisers are killing Indian agriculture