PARADIP: Over 300 persons including farmers, environmentalists and NGOs gave their consent for setting up of a nano fertiliser (DAP and Urea) plant on the premises of IFFCO, Paradip unit. The meeting was held at Kalyan Mandap in Paradip town on Wednesday.
The participants felt the plan would benefit all concerned in the long run. IFFCO officials explained various aspects of the project linked to environment pollution, employment opportunities and peripheral development to the participants.
The officials said the proposed nano fertiliser plant will have the capacity to produce 33,000 kl nano DAP and nano urea in a year. The plant will be established over 10 acre land within IFFCO unit premises at a cost of `225 crore. “Production of nano fertiliser will help farmers. Its use will reduce their dependence on conventional fertiliser by up to 50 per cent,” they said. The efficacy of the new product can be gauged by the fact that 500 ml of nano urea will replace a 45 kg bag of conventional urea.
The officials also said Nano DAP will promote efficient nutrient management, prevention in deterioration of ecosystem and improvement in soil health. The project will lead to employment generation in the locality. Nano fertilizer will reduce both subsidy burden on Government of India as well as the fertiliser import load of the country.
Apprehensive of the impact of the project, some farmers alleged they have not yet been given jobs by IFFCO after they gave up their land for the project. This apart, they are apprehensive of the new plant’s impact on environment. However, IFFCO officials said the production process of nano fertiliser will have negligible impact on air and water.