NEW DELHI, Feb 19: Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday laid the foundation stone of a nano urea project at state-owned RCF’s Trombay plant in Mumbai.
According to an official statement, the minister laid the foundation stone of ‘Nano Urea project’ and ‘Phosphate Rich Organic Manure (PROM)-SHEETALA’ project at the Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers’ (RCF) Trombay unit.
While inaugurating the facilities, Mandaviya said the estimated project cost of the proposed nano urea plant is Rs 150 crore.
He said the capacity of the proposed plant at RCF is 1.5 lakh bottles (500 ml) per day and it will be able meet the future demands of farmers.
The plant will functional within one year.
After the plant is functional, the nano urea produced by RCF in a year will be able to replace 20 lakh metric tonnes of conventional urea, he added.
Nano urea is a revolutionary product which will help protect soil health by reducing the use of urea by up to 50 per cent for the same yield. The project is based on a technology developed by cooperative major IFFCO.
Mandaviya pitched for use of nano fertiliser as a substitute for conventional fertilisers in the agriculture sector.
Nano urea, in liquid form, when sprayed on the leaves gets absorbed by plants more effectively, thereby avoiding losses due to leaching and/or run off to water bodies as in case of conventional urea.
Mandaviya further said the PROM fertiliser unit that will be established here will be able to reduce the use of unsafe fertilisers.
The capacity of the proposed Phosphate Rich Organic Manure (PROM) – SHEETALA plant is estimated to be 6,000 tonnes per annum.
SHEETALA PROM is produced by co-composting of rock phosphate and is an efficient way of adding phosphorus to soil as compared to chemical fertilisers.
The product is a suitable source of nutrient for organic farming and improves the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil and increases crop production. (PTI)
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