Two days after he asked chief ministers of states to immediately stop forced sale of nano-fertilisers and biostimulants to farmers, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Tuesday said the government will not allow the sale of biostimulants without scientific nod.
He directed the officials of his ministry to put in place “clear rules and SOPs (standard operating procedures)” for the sale of biostimulants.
Chairing a meeting, Chouhan said that farmers raised numerous complaints about the sale of fake fertilisers, seeds, biostimulants, and nano urea during his visits to villages as part of recently concluded 15-day ‘Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan’, where he held direct interactions with them.
Chouhan questioned why biostimulants, despite repeated renewals and years of sales, were still in the market even after several complaints stated that they were ineffective.
“Now, only those biostimulants that meet all the criteria and are proven beneficial to farmers will be approved. Approvals will now be based solely on scientific validation, and the responsibility for this will rest entirely with the concerned officials,” he said, according to an official statement.
Many companies started selling biostimulants without any rules, but the government will not let this happen at any cost, he said, adding that the government will take action against suspicious manufacturers of biostimulants.
“It is necessary to review biostimulants thoroughly to see how much benefit the farmers are getting from it; if not, then permission to sell it cannot be given,” Chouhan said.
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He also emphasised the need for the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to evaluate biostimulants.
Chouhan instructed the officials to put in place clear rules and SOPs, and said that irregularities will no longer be tolerated.
Biostimulants are substances or microorganisms (such as beneficial bacteria, fungi, or plant extracts) that, when applied to seeds, plants, or soil, stimulate natural plant processes.
The minister pointed out that for several years, around 30,000 biostimulant products were being sold unchecked, and even in the last four years, around 8,000 products remained in circulation. “After I enforced stricter checks, the number has now come down to around 650,” he said.
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It is learnt that the meeting was called impromptu and no notice was given to officials. The meeting was attended by the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the ICAR.
The biostimulants market in India was valued at approximately USD 355–362 million in 2024 and is projected to reach between USD 1.13 billion and USD 1.2 billion by 2032.
On July 13, Chouhan had asked the state governments to immediately stop the “forced tagging” of nano-fertilisers or biostimulants along with conventional fertilisers such as urea and diammonium phosphate (DAP). In a letter to chief ministers, Chouhan highlighted complaints that retailers are not selling subsidised conventional fertilisers such as urea, DAP, etc. to farmers unless they purchase nano-fertilisers or biostimulants.
