Govt signs MoU with ICAR for 5-year nano urea evaluation project

New Delhi: In a bid to assess the field-level efficacy of nano fertilisers, the government has signed an MoU with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for a network project focused on nano urea, Union Minister Anupriya Patel informed the Lok Sabha on Friday.

The five-year initiative under the MoU signed on November 3, 2025, with a total outlay of Rs 21.20 crore (including GST), will be jointly funded by fertiliser public sector undertakings and cooperatives, the Minister of State for Fertilisers said in her written reply. The project will be carried out across multiple agricultural universities and institutes, including the ICAR-Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI) in Cuttack, Odisha. The minister said the ICAR also launched another project in August 2024, backed by the Indian Council for Fertilizers and Fertilizer Technology Research (ICFFTR) with an allocation of Rs 1.60 crore.

Spanning two years, it aims to study the effects of nano fertilisers on crop growth, soil health and nutrient uptake in diverse agro-ecological zones. Meanwhile, the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) has conducted evaluations of its nano fertilisers in drought-prone districts such as Balangir, focusing on crops like paddy, cotton and brinjal.

These included farmer field trials and collaborations with the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) in Bhubaneswar. Trials on brinjal at the Regional Research and Technology Transfer Station (RRTTS) of OUAT in Bhawanipatna, Kalahandi, and on paddy at OUAT's Seed Research Farm in Bargarh.