📚 Fertilizer Legislation

• Chemical fertilizers are becoming increasingly expensive day by day due to hike of prices of petroleum, inflation etc., which tempts dealers to adopt malpractices for earning more profits through adulteration, supplies of underweight materials or blending of degraded fertilizers etc.
• Thus, the farmers are ditched and often they fail to get good response of applied fertilizers. Therefore, the laws regulating the manufacture and sale of various fertilizers are essential to ensure that the consumer or the farmer is supplied with fertilizers of standard quality.
• Keeping these points in mind, the Government of India brought in the fertilizer Control Act.

Fertilizer Control Act

• The Union Government of India promulgated the Fertilizer Control Act (F.C.O) in 1957 under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (section 3) with a view to regulate fertilizer business in India.
• The F.C.O. keeps a strict watch on quality control of fertilizers, provides for the registration of dealers and statutory control of fertilizer prices by Government. Therefore, everybody involved in fertilizer business as a manufacturer, dealer or a salesperson, must have proper understanding of the F.C.O. in order to avoid infringement of Government regulations.
• The provisions given in the Order will also help the consumers/ farmers to know their rights and privileges in respect of fertilizer quality and Authorities to be approached for their grievances regarding supply of substandard materials, overcharging or containers of underweight supplies.
• The F.C.O. is published by the Fertilizer Association of India (F.A.I.), updated when ever felt necessary. The Order has provisions on quality for each consumed fertilizer product and F.C.O. should be consulted under infringement of any of them.

Control of Quality of Fertilizers

• The F.C.O. has provisions to penalize manufactures, distributors, and dealers for supply of spurious or adulterated fertilizers to consumers or farmers. The F.C.O. has fixed specifications for various fertilizers, which must be present in them failing which the legislation comes in force, and guilty is punished.

👉🏻 Example: The specifications for urea

• Moisture % by weight (Max.): 1 %
• Total nitrogen % by weight (Min.): 46 %
• Biuret % by weight (Max.): 1.5 %

Fertilizer Movement Control Order

• The Fertilizer Movement Order (F.M.O.) was promulgated by Government of India in April 1973 to ensure an equitable distribution of fertilizers in various States.
• According to the fertilizer movement order, no person or agency can export chemical fertilizers from any State. However, Food Corporation of India, Warehousing Corporation of India and Indian, Potash Limited; materials like Rock phosphate, bone meal (both raw and steamed) and zinc sulphate are exempted from the movement restriction.

🙋🏼‍♀️ With reference to chemical fertilizers in India, consider the following statements: ^{UPSC Pre 2020}

1. At present, the retail price of chemical fertilizers is market-driven and not administered by the Government.
2. Ammonia, which is an input of urea, is produced from natural gas.
3. Sulphur, which is a raw material for phosphoric acid fertilizer, is a by-product of oil refineries.

👉🏻 Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 2 only (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (b)

🙋🏼‍♀️ What are the advantages of fertigation in agriculture? ^{UPSC Pre 2020}

1. Controlling the alkalinity of irrigation water is possible.
2. Efficient application of Rock Phosphate and all other phosphatic fertilizers is possible.
3. Increased availability of nutrients to plants is possible.
4. Reduction in the leaching of chemical nutrients are possible.

👉🏻 Select the correct answer using the code given below: (a) 1, 2 and 3 only (b) 1, 2 and 4 only (c) 1,3 and 4 only (d) 2, 3 and 4 only

Answer: (c)