We are happy to share our experiences and the specific Action Programme for Reducing Chemical Fertilizers that we practice. Below are the strategies, insights, and solutions we have developed to close the nutrient loop and sustain high crop productivity naturally.
To truly “recycle nutrients,” we do not just apply raw biomass. All available farm biomass and agricultural waste are thoroughly composted and systematically fortified with Biofertilizers.
To maximize nutrient availability, we enrich our compost with:
- Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria: Azotobacter, Azospirillum, and Nitrosomonas. This fortified application helps fix 30 to 50 kg of atmospheric nitrogen per acre per year, fulfilling almost 50% to 70% of our crops’ total nitrogen requirement.
- Phosphorus & Potassium Solubilizers: We mix P-solubilising and K-solubilising bacteria into the compost. This unlocks and releases the bound Phosphorus and Potassium already present in the soil, making them readily available to plant roots.
- Fungal Protection: Just before soil application, we add a Trichoderma culture to the compost. This allows the beneficial fungus to establish itself in the soil, effectively suppressing pathogenic fungi and protecting our crops from destructive root infections like Rhizoctonia.
One of the major practical challenges we faced is that soil has a threshold limit for the absorption and release of organic nutrients. Relying strictly on soil-applied compost can sometimes slow down crop growth and temporarily reduce productivity. To compensate for this and boost crop yields, we implement a regular schedule of Foliar Spraying (Liquid Growth Promoters). The leaves absorb these nutrients instantly, bypassing soil limitations:
- Panchagavya & Fish Amino Acids: For robust vegetative growth and microbial activity.
- Moringa Leaf Extract & Azolla Extract: Rich in natural plant hormones (zeatin), micro-nutrients, and essential proteins that significantly enhance crop health and yield.
The most successful approaches move away from “feeding the plant” directly with synthetic chemicals and focus instead on building soil biology to unlock and retain nutrients naturally.
1) What strategies have worked on your farm to improve nutrient efficiency or reduce fertilizer dependency?
The most effective strategy is shifting from “feeding the plant directly” to “feeding the soil biology.” Because chemical fertilizers have a low nutrient use efficiency (crops only absorb about 35% to 40% of applied chemical nitrogen), organic strategies focus on building an active soil ecosystem.
- Split Application of Organic Bio-stimulants: Rather than dumping all organic matter at once, successful farms apply liquid formulations (like Jeevamrutha, Amrit Jal, or liquid compost extracts) in multiple small doses through irrigation or drenching. This provides a steady release of nutrients directly matching the crop’s growth stages.
- Biofertilizer Inoculation: Treating seeds or soil with living microbial cultures—such as Rhizobium(for nitrogen-fixing), Azotobacter, and Phosphorus Solubilizing Bacteria (PSB)—helps unlock minerals that are already present but “trapped” in the soil clay matrix.
2) Have you experimented with composting, legumes, cover crops, manure management, or erosion control?
Yes, these are the pillars of a successful organic fertility system:
- Composting & Vermicomposting: Moving away from raw farmyard manure (FYM) to thermophilic compost and worm castings. Raw manure can introduce weed seeds and pathogens; thermal composting kills weeds while multiplying beneficial soil fungi and bacteria.
- Legumes & Cover Crops: Rotating or intercropping with green manure crops like Dhaincha (Sesbania), Sunn hemp, or cowpeas. Plowing these back into the soil just before they flower can add a massive amount of organic mass and nitrogen back to the field.
- Manure Management: Covering manure pits to prevent heavy monsoon rains from leaching away vital potassium and nitrogen, and applying well-rotted manure directly to the root zone rather than broad broadcasting.
- Erosion Control: Practicing reduced tillage and establishing bunds or grass strips. Because organic phosphorus binds tightly to organic matter in the topsoil, stopping soil erosion is the single best way to prevent phosphorus loss.
3) Have you faced any challenges? If so, how did you overcome them? Are there any challenges for which you are still looking for solutions?
ChallengesFaced & Overcome:
- The 2-to-3 Year Yield Dip: When stopping chemical fertilizers, soil microbes are often dormant or depleted, causing an initial drop in crop yield.
How it was overcome: Farmers gradually phased out chemicals (e.g., reducing chemical inputs by 30% a year) while simultaneously scaling up compost and biofertilizer applications to give soil biology time to wake up. - Weed Proliferation: Organic manures can sometimes encourage heavy weed growth.
How it was overcome: High-density planting of cover crops to physically choke out weeds, and utilizing mechanical weeders or multi-cropping patterns. - Organic fertilizers rely entirely on soil moisture, temperature, and microbial activity to break down and feed the plant. During an unseasonably cold spring or a delayed monsoon, the microbes become sluggish, causing a temporary nutrient deficiency in the crop. Accurate, low-cost tools to predict exact organic nutrient release timing in changing weather remain a challenge.
- Handling, hauling, and spreading tons of bulky organic compost requires significantly more physical labour than carrying a few bags of concentrated chemical urea. Finding affordable, small-scale mechanization for organic input application is an ongoing need.
4) If you are already using natural fertilizers, approximately how much money do you estimate you save per hectare per year compared to conventional fertilizers? If so, please feel free to share those numbers with us!
The financial shift in an organic system moves farmer expenses away from buying commercial chemical products and transfers them into labor, seeds, and biological preparation.
Because chemical nitrogen (Urea) is heavily subsidized in India (fixed at around Rs. 242 per bag), chemical inputs look cheap upfront, but they degrade the soil over time. When look at a full-scale organic management system, the net savings are quite clear:
Estimate of Saving (Minimum)
| Expense Category | Conventional Chemical System | Organic / Natural System | Net Financial Difference |
| Fertilizers & Inputs | Rs. 23,500 – Rs. 38,000 (DAP, Urea, MOP, Micronutrients) | Rs. 6,000 – Rs. 11,000 (On-farm Compost, Bio-stimulants, Biofertilizers) | Rs. 17,500 to Rs. 27,000 saved on chemical purchases. |
| Cover Crop Seeds | 0 | Rs. 4,500 – Rs.8,500 (Legume/ Green manure seeds) | Rs. 4,500 to Rs. 8,500 investments in soil biology. |
| Labor & Application | Lower (Quick spraying / broadcasting) | Higher (Handling bulky compost & biological sprays) | Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 5,000 higher operational labour cost. |
| Irrigation / Water Energy | Higher (Chemical-heavy soils dry out faster) | Lower (Organic matter holds up to 20% more moisture) | Rs. 2,500 to Rs 4,500 saved on water / diesel / electricity. |
| Total Net Annual Savings | — | — | Rs. 12,500 to Rs. 18,000 saved per Hectare / Year |
We hope our experiences with biological fortifiers, foliar sprays, and phased chemical reduction offer useful insights to the network. We look forward to learning from the practices of other global partners!
Warm regards,
Sr Archana Das DM
Director
