Minister inaugurates FAI’s Seminar; IFFCO & KRIBHCO bag many awards

The 59th Fertiliser Association of India Annual Seminar 2023 was inaugurated by Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Chemicals & Fertilisers at a glittering function in Delhi on Wednesday.

The event was attended by the top players of the fertilizer sector including those from the cooperative sector such as IFFCO MD Dr U S Awasthi, Kribhco bosses and many more. The theme of the seminar was “Innovations in Fertiliser and Agriculture Sectors”.

Rajat Kumar Mishra, Secretary (Fertilisers) and other senior government officials were present at the event. N Suresh Krishanan, Chairman, FAI; S C Mehta, Co-Chairman, FAI and Arvind Chaudhary, Director General, FAI were also present.

Speaking on this occasion Dr Mandaviya said “the Indian Fertiliser Sector has achieved the twin objectives of supporting our 14 crore farming families by providing timely fertilisers, driving agronomic services, and emerging as a strong force in the fertiliser sector by playing a significant role in shaping up the global market.”

“The Government has been stepping up its support to the small and marginal farmers, prioritizing their welfare and thereby, meeting the food security goals of the nation, adding the govt has taken several proactive measures intending to strengthen domestic production and plugging leakages and diversions, the combined efforts of which have led to record productivity”, he said.

The Minister said more than 3 million tons of Urea capacity have been revived, with additional capacity expected to come on-stream in the next couple of years. He said that the government has been working towards raw material security in the Phosphatic and Potassic sectors and are encouraging Indian companies to partner overseas ventures, long term strategic partnerships and mining.

He said that India is the first nation to introduce Nano fertilisers such as Nano DAP and Nano Urea through the Indian Research ecosystem. “This is one of the one-of-a-kind technologies in the world and can revolutionize the nutrient application practices on earth”, he stated.

Dr Mandaviya encouraged Indian industries to scale up and develop smart nutrients like slow release, coated and liquid fertilisers which can improve nutrient use efficiency. He concluded his speech by urging the fertiliser fraternity to move towards greener ways of fertiliser manufacturing.

During the function, various awards were distributed by the Union Minister to co-operatives, companies, scientists and other individuals to recognize excellence in production, environment performance, safety, marketing and promotion of micronutrients, biofertilizers.