Making farmers’ lives easier is government’s top priority: Nadda

New Delhi: The government’s fertilizer policy is firmly anchored around farmers, with a focus on timely availability, balanced use and long-term soil health, Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers J.P. Nadda said on Friday.

Speaking at a day-long Chintan Shivir organised by the Department of Fertilizers in New Delhi, Nadda said policies and decisions must aim to make farmers’ lives “easier and better,” noting that the sector had navigated multiple challenges while ensuring uninterrupted fertilizer supplies.

Despite global and domestic constraints, the department successfully met farmers’ fertilizer requirements through a combination of record domestic production and essential imports, he said. Farmer-centric measures, he added, had played a key role in stabilising supply during the current year.

Nadda also stressed the need for coordinated action across government departments to address concerns such as imbalanced fertilizer use and diversion of subsidised fertilizers for non-agricultural purposes. Sustainable agriculture, he said, would require both policy alignment and better on-ground enforcement.

Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Anupriya Patel said the deliberations at the Chintan Shivir aligned with the national vision of positioning India as a global food basket. The ideas generated during the discussions would contribute to the goal of building a developed India by 2047, she said.

Fertilizer Secretary Rajat Kumar Mishra said the government, public sector undertakings and private industry had collectively placed farmers at the centre of discussions. The interactive format of the camp, he said, allowed every idea to be deliberated, enabling more effective outcomes from shared expertise.

Held at the National Agricultural Science Complex, the one-day camp brought together senior officials from the Department of Fertilizers and state governments, scientists, and representatives from industry, cooperatives and PSUs. Fifteen groups held detailed discussions on key themes, including new-age fertilizers, self-sufficiency in production, farmer outreach and awareness, digital interventions in the fertilizer ecosystem, and the Nutrient Based Subsidy framework.

The minister, minister of state and fertilizer secretary interacted with each group individually to hear suggestions, underscoring the government’s push for participative policymaking in the fertilizer sector.