Rising uncertainty in shipping and supply chains due to the West Asia conflict has pushed up the prices of fuel and fertilisers. At the same time, India is facing severe heatwaves and weaker monsoons, adding pressure on energy use and farm inputs.
The article argues that while some shocks are geopolitical, several vulnerabilities are home-grown. India remains heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels—petrol, diesel and gas—for household cooking, industry, transport and fertiliser production. Policy responses, it notes, often focus on increasing supply while neglecting measures that curb demand.
On agriculture, it highlights the need to recycle nutrients already available in cattle dung, human waste and wastewater—resources that are often not reused, leading to higher fertiliser imports and pollution of water bodies. It also points to the role of crop rotation with pulses, which can fix atmospheric nitrogen, require less water and reduce urea demand. Although the ‘Dalhan Atmanirbharta Mission’ launched in October 2025 promised full procurement of select pulses at MSP, agriculture ministry data from April 2026 shows pulse acreage has risen only 1.26%.
The piece calls for faster expansion of biogas and biochar using dung, urine, human waste and other organic waste to reduce reliance on imported LPG and LNG. India is estimated to have the potential to produce nearly 90 billion cubic metres of compressed biogas annually—enough to meet the country’s natural gas needs. Schemes such as the National Bioenergy Programme, GOBAR-Dhan and SATAT provide incentives; as of last year, 170 biogas plants were operational and 300 were under construction, but scaling up is urged.
Finally, it recommends changing fertiliser practice: prioritise compost, dung and biochar as the first line of soil nutrition, and use chemical fertilisers only as supplements. Indian studies cited in the article indicate that replacing up to half of recommended chemical fertiliser with organic inputs does not reduce yields, underscoring the scope for a science-based shift.
