New Delhi, April 1 (Representative) Fertilizer consumption has increased more than 10 times in the past 50 years in the country. The per hectare fertilizer consumption was 13.13 kg in 1970-71 and 136.04 kg in 2020-21, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Friday. Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar said this in a written answer to Congress member K C Venugopal.
Responding to another query regarding the depletion of organic carbon in the soil, the Minister said that results from a research project at different locations in India indicated that a balanced use of chemical fertilizers did not deteriorate soil organic carbon, rather it resulted in increase in soil organic carbon. During Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, RJD’s A D Singh urged the government to control the excess use of urea in the soil as it was harmful for the environment. “Only 30 per cent of the nutrients in the urea go into the soil, the rest either contaminate the underground water or go in the atmosphere. The government should educate the farmers not to use urea in excess which harms the soil health and our next generation,” he said.