Bio-Fertilizers are fertilizers that contain living cells or latent cells of efficient strains of microorganisms that help plants to absorb nutrients through their interactions in the rhizosphere when applied through seed or soil. They accelerate certain microbial processes in the soil which augment the extent of availability of nutrients in a form easily assimilated by plants. The fertilizers are used to improve the fertility of the land using biological wastes, hence the term Bio-Fertilizers, and biological wastes do not contain any chemicals which are detrimental to the living soil.
Advantages of Bio-Fertilizers:
Market Outlook
The India Bio-fertilizers market is expected to grow from $110.07 million in 2022 to $243.61 million by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 12.02% in the forecast period. The usage of Bio-Fertilizers is gaining traction due to a number of factors such as growing awareness regarding their health and environmental benefits, gradual shift from chemical-based farming techniques to organic practices, growing adoption of Bio-Fertilizers in soil fertility management activities, growth of the organic food industry, and rise in the cost of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. This growth is mainly due to increasing penetration of Bio-Fertilizers in agriculture, increase in demand for organic produce and easy availability of affordable Bio-Fertilizer products to end users.
In Meghalaya the requirement of Bio-fertilizers per year is 22,000 metric tons whereas the current production in the state is a mere 150 metric tons per year. With the involvement of private sectors (entrepreneurs), more manufacturing units can be set up to boost the production to meet the ever-increasing demand in the state.
In line with the objective of encouraging the use of Bio-Fertilizers and Bio-Pesticides, the first Bio-fertilizer production Unit in the entire North-Eastern Region was set up at the State Biological Control Laboratory in Upper Shillong.
