Sanjiv Kanwar, Managing Director of Yara South Asia, has called for a fundamental shift in India's fertilizer approach, emphasizing balanced crop nutrition over increased urea application to boost agricultural productivity. Speaking at the FICCI India Innovative Crop Nutrition Conclave 2026, Kanwar highlighted that delivering scientific knowledge to farmers is essential to correct the overuse of subsidized fertilizers and adapt to changing agro-climatic conditions.
Imbalanced Fertilizer Use and Nitrogen Overconsumption
Kanwar pointed out that India's current fertilizer application ratio stands at 10:4:1, indicating a heavy bias toward nitrogen. Authorities have identified approximately 100 districts where nitrogen usage far exceeds standard requirements, necessitating urgent reduction. "We are a urea producer in India, but we are the first people to say, we do not want you guys to use five bags of urea when just two bags are enough," Kanwar stated, underscoring the company's commitment to sustainable practices.
Innovative Alternatives and Farmer Engagement
The shift toward reduced conventional fertilizer use requires innovative alternatives that maintain or improve crop yields while protecting soil health against climate stress. According to Kanwar, "Every granule or every milliliter of innovative fertilizers that goes onto the crop will lead to a reduction of application of subsidized fertilizers. That is how we need to find a balance." To achieve this, Yara conducts about 72,000 farmer engagement activities annually, averaging 200 daily touchpoints through meetings, melas, and direct field demonstrations.
Kanwar emphasized that farmers, regardless of education level, are business-minded and seek returns on investment. "If you will go and try to sell something or get them to do something in which they will not see the return, there's a pushback," he noted. Rising rural literacy and the annual output of nearly 50,000 agriculture graduates from 750 domestic institutes have made farmers more receptive to scientific evidence and modern technology.
Focus on Biostimulants and Biologicals
Looking ahead, Yara plans to expand its pipeline toward biostimulants and biologicals to help crops withstand severe environmental stress. "Agriculture is coming under deep stress because of nature changing itself and biologicals is one, bio-streaming is one way that we can help the farmers combat the change in agro-climatic conditions," Kanwar concluded.
