The foundation stone for Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative's (IFFCO) nano urea plant, which will mainly cater to the needs of the southern Indian markets, was laid in Bengaluru.
The foundation stone was laid by the Chief Minister of Karnataka Basavaraj Bommai in presence of Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya at Hi-tech Defence and Aero Space Park, 2nd Phase, Naganayakanahalli, Devanahalli, Bengaluru Rural District, an official statement said on Saturday.
A total of 12 acres plot has been allotted to IFFCO by the government of Karnataka.
Addressing the gathering, the chief minister thanked the Union government for choosing the state for the important project, and termed nano urea technology as a "farmers' friend".
The nano urea is a revolution in the agriculture sector as it has the potential to reduce storage space and money while improving the crop yield. Nano urea is termed as the greatest innovation in the field of agriculture after the high-yielding seeds technology of the 1970s, which brought about the green revolution in India.
Besides improving crop yields, nano urea will be instrumental in reducing the subsidy burden on the government as it is aimed at reducing the usage of highly subsidized traditional urea.
The plant is expected to be completed in 15 months, said U. S. Awasthi, Managing Director of IFFCO. It will produce nearly 5 crore bottles per annum for the farmers of Karnataka and south India, which is equivalent to 5 crore bags (22.5 lakh MT) of conventional urea.
Besides improving crop yields, nano urea technology also enables a safe, clean, and green environment and better soil health.
"It will also reduce the urea import as it is gradually replaced. Nano Urea can be sprayed using drones, which will reduce time, increase efficiency, and will be beneficial for the health of both farmers and the soil. Nano DAP is also in the trial stage, and India is about to become self-sufficient in fertilizers," the statement added.
This is a great leap forward in realizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream of doubling the farmers' income and will be a great step for the cooperative sector as the innovation is led by a farmers' cooperative with farmers' interest at the core of its business philosophy, it added.
( With inputs from ANI )
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