IFFCO not to invest in chemical fertiliser, its use degrades soil fertility: MD

New Delhi: Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) has said that it will not invest further in the chemical fertilisers.

IFFCO is India's largest fertiliser producer.

IFFCO Managing Director Uday Shankar Awasthi said that the use of chemical fertilisers in not in the interest of the farmers.

He pointed out that its excessive use was harmful because it could degrade the fertility of the soil in the long term.

Awasthi was quoted as saying by UNI that IFFCO has taken a decision to go for the bio and nano fertiliser.

The focus, he added, would be on research to increase the agricultural productivity with a balanced use of fertilisers.

Awasthi said that due to ignorance, farmers in India use excessive chemical fertilisers, so it was important to make them aware of its bad effects.

He further said that huge acres of fertile land had turned infertile due to excessive use of chemical fertilisers.

This, he maintained, affected the environment too. 

Giving an example of the United States and China, Awasthi pointed out that curb in the use of chemical fertilisers had not affected their production much.