What is the One Nation One Fertiliser scheme?

The One Nation One fertilizer scheme will be implemented in the country from 2nd October 2022. Under this scheme, all types of fertilizers will be sold in India under the same brand name 'Bharat'. Also, the government changed the name of the fertilizer subsidy program to Pradhanmantri Bhartiya Janurvarak Pariyojna (PMBJP).

After the implementation of this scheme, Bharat Urea, Bharat DAP, Bharat MOP and Bharat NPK will be available in the market under single brand names like Urea, DAP, MOP and NPK etc. To achieve uniformity in fertilizer brands across the country, the government on Thursday issued an order directing all companies to sell their products under a single 'Bharat' brand.

Following the order, all fertilizer bags, whether containing urea or diammonium phosphate (DAP) or muriate of potash (MOP) or NPK, will sport the brand name such as 'Bharat Urea', 'Bharat DAP', 'Bharat MOP ' and 'Bharat NPK' regardless of the company that manufactures it, whether in the public or private sector.

In an informal interaction with the media, Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that One Nation One Fertilizer would stop the cross movement of fertilizers over longer distances. It will reduce logistics costs and also ensure the availability of fertilizers for farmers throughout the year. This concept will be strengthened to monitor in real-time the movement, availability, and sales of fertilizers in a state. ONOF will streamline the supply process without bottlenecks, reduce the burden of subsidies in terms of higher freight charges and increase the availability basket, he said.

Elaborating on the crossover movement of the fertilizer, the minister said that the crossover movement of the fertilizer is due to brand preferences.

What is 'One Nation One Fertiliser' scheme?

Under the scheme, all fertilizer companies, State Trading Entities (STEs) and Fertilizer Marketing Entities (FMEs) will be required to use a single "Bharat" brand for fertilizers and logo under the PMBJP.

“The one brand for UREA, DAP, MOP and NPKS etc. would be BHARAT UREA, BHARAT DAP, BHARAT MOP and BHARAT NPK etc. respectively for all fertilizer companies, state trading entities (STE) and fertilizer trading entities (FME), ”, the Ministry order said. The memorandum outlines the specifications of the new business packaging.

• The new "Bharat" branding and the PMBJP logo will cover two-thirds of the front of the fertilizer package.

• Manufacturing brands may only display their name, logo and other information in the remaining third of the space.

• The government also requested fertilizer companies not to purchase old-design bags from September 15, adding that the rollout of the new bags under One Nation One Fertilizer would start from October 2. The order added that companies would have a delivery deadline of four months to exhaust the old containers on the market.

• PradhanmantriBharityaJanurvarakPariyojna (PMBJP) scheme mandates that All fertiliser products being sold under the PMBJP scheme should carry a single brand name ‘Bharat’, irrespective of if it is produced by the public or private sector.

• Different types of fertiliser products will carry Bharat brand name i.e., ‘Bharat Urea’, ‘Bharat DAP’, ‘Bharat MOP’ and ‘Bharat NPK’

• All bags or packaging material used for fertilisers should carry “a logo indicating Fertiliser subsidy scheme namely Pradhanmantri Bhartiya JanurvarakPariyojna in two-thirds space. Companies are allowed to display their name, brand and logo and other relevant product information in the rest of one-third space only.

• The new provisions of PMBJP will come into effect from 2nd October 2022 onwards.

• Fertiliser production companies are not allowed to procure old design bags from 15th Sept 2022 onwards and will have to exhaust all bags of old design by 12th December 2022.

potential customers

Citing the example of such movement, Mandaviya said fertilisers manufactured by Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) and Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited (KRIBHCO) in Uttar Pradesh are sent to Rajasthan, while nutrients made by Chambal Fertilisers are sold in UP. Similarly, IFFCO/KRIBHCO fertilisers from UP are sold in Madhya Pradesh, and those manufactured by National Fertilizers Limited in MP are sold in UP, he said.

Before 2019, the average of potential customers (movement of fertilizers from the factory to the market) over the years was around 900-1000 KM, which decreased to 850-900 KM during 2019-2020 and decreased even more at 700 to 750 KM during 2020-2021.

Our goal is to reduce it to 500 KM this year. This will further reduce the freight subsidy. On average, during 2019-2020, the government paid a freight subsidy for the movement of fertilizers of Rs 19.03 crore per lakh metric ton (LMT), which was reduced to Rs 11.59 crore in 2020- 2021, he said.

The minister said that under the ONOF, the specifications of the fertilizers are the same as those of the FCO-1985 throughout the country despite their brand. After the introduction of the "Bharat" brand name under One Nation One Fertilizer, farmers would not be confused in choosing the brand. It will also encourage local market capture through the sale of fertilizers by companies and lead to the timely availability of fertilizers to farmers.

The Minister clarified that under the ONOF, the sales agent or the distributors are the main opinion formers to sell the branded fertilizers to the farmers to obtain additional benefits from the companies. Under One Nation One Fertilizer, farmers cannot be influenced by sales agents. Ultimately, farmers will focus on fertilizers, not the company's brands, he added.

Having the same product brand name from all companies will completely destroy the brand value of your product in the market, which is why the fertilizer companies are unhappy. As we know, fertilizer companies use various activities to increase their reach among farmers, in which their brand is prominently displayed, thus promoting the company brand. But now that they have a brand, companies will face difficulties in promoting their product.

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