ICAR-NBSS&LUP and Coromandel partner to develop soil test based nutrient advisory for farmers

The ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey & Land Use Planning (NBSS&LUP), Nagpur signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Coromandel International Limited (CIL), a leading manufacturer of Fertilisers, Crop Protection Chemicals and Specialty Nutrient products on 13th June 2024. This collaboration aims to enhance the dissemination of improved soil test-based crop nutrition management to benefit the farmers in Maharashtra, particularly in the Vidarbha and Marathwada regions. This partnership will focus on soil test-based datasets generated by NBSS&LUP and best nutritional management solutions provided by Coromandel for better soil health and to improve crop productivity of the region. This partnership further aims to foster better coordination, research exchange, and support for the farming community.

During the MoU signing ceremony, Dr. N.G. Patil, Director of ICAR-NBSS&LUP, Nagpur, highlighted the Bureau’s mandate and activities across its five regional centres. He emphasized the goal-oriented developmental approach to provide farmers with advisories based on land parcel information using soil data from the Land Resource Inventory (LRI).

Sankarasubramanian S, Executive Director of Nutrient Business, Coromandel International Limited, signed the MoU on behalf of Coromandel. He emphasised the need for balanced nutrition management based on soil test data for betterment of farmer community. He desired this partnership to extend to other parts of Maharashtra and India by providing soil based digital solutions generated by ICAR-NBSS&LUP for making optimum fertilizer recommendations through site-specific nutrient management. Heads of RSA, SRS and LUP Divisions and Principal Scientists from ICAR-NBSS&LUP, and Madhab Adhikari, Vice President, Sales & Marketing and Dr. Binaya Kumar Parida, Chief Agronomist from Coromandel International were present in the MoU signing event.

The MoU will enable Coromandel to bring advanced nutrition and crop management practices to Maharashtra based on the soil information and farm advisories provided by ICAR-NBSS&LUP. As part of this project, site-specific nutrition demonstrations and farmers’ awareness programs will be conducted. The validated results will be used to develop Decision Support Systems (DSS) through mobile applications for crop choices and nutrient management. During the signing event, several other common scientific and farmer-centric issues for collaboration between the two organizations were discussed, including drone-based research for precision agriculture, carbon farming, and climate-smart agriculture.