The disasters in J&K now and that of Uttrakhand in the recent past point to some deep ecological imbalance. The largest fertilizer-producing cooperative federation of the country IFFCO has voiced its concern on the excessive use of urea, which is counted as one of the factors causing global warming and ecological degradation.
Activities such as agriculture, fossil fuel combustion, wastewater management, and industrial processes are increasing the amount of N2O in the atmosphere. The impact of 1 pound of N2O on warming the atmosphere is over 300 times 1 pound of carbon dioxide.
An anguished Managing Director of IFFCO Dr US Awasthi has pleaded for minimum use of urea. He tweeted” Global warming will cause frequent #floods & #draught, the #iffco is committed to reducing carbon foot prints. Reduction in the use of #urea is a must for this.”
It is noteworthy that the IFFCO has launched “save our soil campaign’ in the past where it puts emphasis on reducing farmers’ dependence on chemical fertilizers. The cooperative giant explains in simple words ways of conserving the fertility of land to farmers. .
From a climate change perspective, nitrogen (N) is the most important nutrient, while phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) have minor impact.
Production, transportation and use of mineral fertilizers contribute directly and indirectly to emissions of greenhouse gases, notably carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O).
There is a need to provide information on its carbon footprints. This enables farmers, retailers and other stakeholders in agriculture to make decisions according to environmental considerations thus minimizing ecological fallout of farming.
