~IIT Gandhinagar and UFZ study finds nitrogen-led cereal planning could cut fertiliser pollution, groundwater use and agricultural emissions while maintaining calorie production.
Gandhinagar, Gujarat, Aug 21 (VNI): A new study by the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Leipzig, has found that redesigning India’s cereal cultivation patterns around nitrogen management could significantly reduce fertiliser pollution and groundwater stress while maintaining calorie production.
Published in Nature Communications, the study argues that nitrogen surplus—the portion of applied fertiliser not absorbed by crops—should become a central policy target in sustainable agriculture. The researchers found that optimising cereal cultivation to minimise nitrogen surplus could reduce water use by 18.6%, saving an estimated 86.8 billion cubic metres of water annually. The nitrogen-led approach also has the potential to avert environmental damage valued at about $1.19 billion, or nearly ₹10,000 crore, every year.
The study was conducted by Dr Shekhar Sharan Goyal and Prof Udit Bhatia of IITGN and Dr Rohini Kumar of UFZ. Their model examined cereal cultivation across 664 districts, reallocating land among rice, wheat, maize, sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra) and finger millet (ragi), while ensuring that states maintained their 2017 calorie production and net returns. Under the recommended scenario, rice acreage declines by 8.8% and wheat by 12.1%, while maize and traditional millets expand.
According to the researchers, the restructuring could reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions by 8.7%, fertiliser pollution by 13.4%, nitrogen leaching by 11.3% and reactive nitrogen emissions by 13.9%. The reduction in emissions includes lower methane emissions from rice cultivation as well as reduced nitrous oxide associated with fertiliser use. The findings therefore have implications for India’s food security, water conservation and climate goals.
Prof Bhatia said the study highlights nitrogen surplus as a single lever capable of addressing two major pressures facing Indian agriculture—excessive fertiliser use and groundwater depletion. He cautioned that the findings should not be interpreted as a blanket prescription to replace rice or wheat, but as an approach to growing the right crop in the right place while ensuring markets, procurement, storage, logistics and support mechanisms enable farmers to maintain their incomes.
The researchers noted that the proposed shift aligns with India’s efforts to promote millets through initiatives such as the Shree Anna mission and the Sub-Mission on Nutri-Cereals. They also highlighted the need to strengthen markets for coarse cereals, particularly in regions where procurement and support prices for these crops are currently limited.
The model also indicates that interstate trade patterns could change, with reduced rice and wheat shipments being partly replaced by increased movement of maize, jowar, bajra and ragi. The authors said these findings could provide a starting point for policymakers planning procurement, storage and logistics networks for coarse cereals.
The researchers stressed that the study is a modelling exercise rather than an implementation plan. It focuses on cereal-to-cereal reallocation and does not include pulses and legumes, which could offer additional benefits for nitrogen management. Dr Goyal said the findings suggest that nitrogen surplus deserves a more central role in how India plans the future of sustainable agriculture. VNI NEWS, IIT Gandhinagar study, nitrogen surplus India, fertiliser pollution, groundwater stress, sustainable agriculture, millet cultivation, agricultural emissions, UFZ, Nitrogen Management, Indian Agriculture, Groundwater, Sustainable Agriculture, Millets, Climate Change, VNINews, VNINews.com