Punjab is India’s leading agriculture state which has recently emerged as the top consumer of fertilisers, including nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphate and potash. Besides, Punjab is also the third largest consumer of chemical pesticides in the country, as per the latest data issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
The data highlights that Punjab’s wheat and paddy growing districts were the primary consumers of these inputs. In 2022-23, 15 districts in Punjab reported an average fertiliser consumption of 254.39 kg per hectare.
Notably, the average consumption of around 223 kg per hectare in Punjab is significantly higher than the national average of 90 kg per hectare.
Punjab’s total gross cropped area urrently stands at 78.71 lakh hectares, out of which around 7,000 hectares are now under certified organic farming. The production of organic fertiliders has also witnessed a substantial increase, rising to 7,407 metric tonnes (MT) in 2022-23 from 473 MT in 2021-22, showing a growing shift towards organic farming practices in the state.
