Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India.
Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati, Chindepalle, India.
Sci Rep. 2023 May 5;13(1):7290. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-34092-0.
Farming in India faces a sustainability challenge due to its overreliance on chemical inputs. For every US$ 1,000 investment in sustainable farming, a US$ 100,000 subsidy is allocated for chemical fertilizers. Indian farming system is far off the optimal nitrogen efficiency, calling for substantial reforms in policy towards the transition to sustainable inputs. We examine the propensity of Indian farmers to adopt biofertilizers and other sustainable inputs. While small farmers are inclined towards chemical inputs, sustainable inputs are costly. Here we show that less than 5 per cent of the farming population contributes to the 95 per cent usage of the bio-fertilizer in India. However, small and marginal farmers contribute substantially to food security. Shifting from chemical to sustainable inputs calls for autonomous investment by the state to augment the capacity and improve affordability. We illustrate the transition to sustainability through a framework that includes scale, affordability, and sustainable inputs.
由于过度依赖化学投入，印度农业面临可持续性挑战。在可持续农业投资每 1000 美元中，就有 10 万美元的化肥补贴。印度农业系统远未达到最佳氮效率，需要对政策进行重大改革，以向可持续投入过渡。我们研究了印度农民采用生物肥料和其他可持续投入的倾向。虽然小农户倾向于使用化学投入，但可持续投入成本高昂。在这里，我们表明，不到 5%的农业人口贡献了印度生物肥料 95%的使用量。然而，小农户和边际农户对粮食安全做出了巨大贡献。从化学投入向可持续投入的转变需要国家自主投资来提高能力和降低成本。我们通过一个包括规模、可负担性和可持续投入的框架来说明向可持续性的转变。
