While presenting their interim budget (2024-25), India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the expansion of nano diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertiliser across all agro-climatic zones following the success of nano urea introduced in 2021. This initiative aims to lower the overall costs of urea and DAP — two of the most widely used fertilisers — while also reducing reliance on imported fertilisers.

Nanofertilisers emerge as a promising alternative to conventional urea and DAP, offering a viable blueprint for Pakistan to consider, particularly given the similarities between the agricultural sectors of both countries.

Pakistan’s population is growing annually at over twice the global rate — 1.9 per cent compared to 0.8pc according to World Bank data — posing a severe challenge to national food security. This challenge is further exacerbated by climate change, water shortages, shrinking per capita agricultural land, and lower crop yields compared to global averages.

Fertilisers contribute around 30 to 50pc to crop yields. Our soil is significantly deficient in nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium — all major crop nutrients — making fertiliser essential to improve crop yields.

Local production of nano urea and DAP could allow Pakistan to achieve self-sufficiency and reduce import dependency

However, according to the World Bank, Pakistan currently lags in fertiliser usage, applying only 157kg per hectare, compared to regional countries such as China (375 kg/ha), India (193 kg/ha), and Bangladesh (384 kg/ha).

In Pakistan, fertiliser application is grappling with two significant challenges at the farm level. First, there has been a sharp increase in fertiliser prices,........

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