IBA urges 10% fermented organic manure blending with fertilisers by 2030
The Indian Biogas Association wants India to mandate a gradual rise in fermented organic manure blending with chemical fertilisers until it reaches 10% by 2030. The group says the move could save about $2 billion a year in fertiliser imports while helping restore soil health.
The Indian Biogas Association has called for a mandatory blending target that would raise the share of Fermented Organic Manure in chemical fertiliser use to 10% by 2030. According to the association, the measure could save India about $2 billion a year in fertiliser imports. The proposal is set out in a white paper titled FOM Feeds Soil, Soil Feeds Sustainability, released during BBB Summit 2026, held from May 7 to May 9.
The white paper was released by Union New & Renewable Energy Secretary Santosh Kumar Sarangi. In the document, IBA presents FOM as a practical tool for rebuilding soil health and speeding the shift toward more sustainable agriculture. It argues that the material should be integrated into existing government schemes, including the Nutrient-Based Subsidy framework, the Soil Health Card scheme and Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana.
IBA says the urgency is clear because India’s Soil Organic Carbon level remains around 0.4%, a level it describes as critically low for soil fertility, water retention and crop productivity. Its roadmap calls for calibrated FOM use based on local SOC conditions and region-specific nutrient management. The association says that approach would support more balanced fertilisation and reduce excessive dependence on chemical fertilisers.
To institutionalise the shift, IBA proposes a national umbrella programme called SuBiCulP, or Sustainable Biogas-Organic Fertilizer Based Cultivation Programme. The programme is meant to ensure full offtake and utilisation of FOM produced by biogas and compressed biogas plants while linking renewable energy production with agriculture. The phased schedule proposed by IBA starts with 1% mandatory blending in 2026-27, rises to 3% in 2027-28, 5% in 2028-29 and reaches 10% in 2029-30.
The association also points to the inclusion of FOM under the Organic Carbon Enhancer category in the Fertilizer Control Order 2025 as a regulatory base for wider adoption. It says scaling the product will require onboarding producers, district-level supply chains, stronger market linkages, more research through ICAR and state agricultural universities, multilingual extension services, standardised quality certification and decentralised testing infrastructure. IBA president A. R. Shukla said mainstreaming FOM is essential for long-term soil regeneration and climate resilience in Indian agriculture.