Even as IFFCO has started exporting the innovative nano urea, two scientists from Denmark have raised questions on the product’s efficacy as claimed by the manufacturer and have sought scientific research to be conducted by independent bodies on whether nano urea has a “positive impact on plant growth and to which extent.”

In a research paper published in Plant and Soil, a monthly scientific journal in Holland, authors Max Frank and Soren Huste have warned that there could be serious consequences for food security. “The expectations raised by IFFCO are far from reality and may lead to large-scale yield losses with serious consequences for food security and the livelihood of farmers. At the same time, the confidence in innovative sustainable products as well as the science behind them may be threatened. Based on the IFFCO case, and considering the booming emergence of novel nano-based fertilizers appearing all over the world these years, it is clear that much more priority should be given to scientifically proving their efficacy and mode of action, before they are launched in the markets,” the authors said.

Though nano-urea was launched in August 2021, the research paper has come only recently and coincidentally when IFFCO unveiled its export plan, said a source in the fertilizer industry questioning the timing of the paper as those points were known two years back.

Detailed clarifications

However, many Indian agriculture scientists, who informally discussed last week the issues raised in the paper, agreed that IFFCO should come out with clarifications on the scientific points raised by the authors. Sources in IFFCO said that the co-operative major is planning to come out with a detailed clarifications at the earliest.

According to the research paper, producers state that it is now possible to replace a 45 kg bag of conventional urea, containing 21 kg nitrogen (N) by foliar application of just 20 g N in the form of nano urea. “If so, N from this novel high-tech fertilizer product should be able to increase the N-use efficiency (NUE) of crops more than 1,000 times compared to conventional urea,” it said.

Further, the paper also mentioned about government’s plan to massively boost production of nano urea by setting up 10 new factories, with an annual production capacity of 440 million bottles by 2025 and to expand export of the product to 25 countries, mainly situated in Asia, Africa and South-America.

The paper also took note of IFFCO’s plan for launching nano zinc, nano copper after nano Di-Ammonium Phosphate (nano-DAP) was approved in March 2023.

“Based on the above, it seems necessary and acute that independent bodies conduct scientific research on whether nano urea has a positive impact on plant growth and to which extent.” the authors said.