Reliance Industries’ Dinesh Singh makes case for ‘freight support’ to revolutionise FOM adoption

India’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions, improve soil health and cut dependence on imported fertilisers could receive a boost from fermented organic manure (FOM), a by-product of compressed biogas (CBG) production. However, wider adoption of this organic fertiliser will require stronger market support and affordable transportation, said Dinesh Singh, Business Head – Fertilizer at Reliance Industries.

Deliberating during the “Bio Pathways to Net Zero: Biomass & Bioenergy” seminar organised by Indian Federation of Green Energy (IFGE) at Ministry of New & Renewable Resources (MNRE) in New Delhi, Singh explained how converting agricultural waste into CBG and organic manure could address several challenges simultaneously. He emphasised that while the government was supporting the biogas sector, freight assistance would be essential to take FOM to farmers across the country.

India emits about 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide annually and agriculture contributes about 14% to this. The country has committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2070. According to Singh, the country needs to reduce emissions by around 71 million tonnes every year to remain on track towards this goal. Agriculture, waste burning and dependence on chemical fertilisers are among the areas where improvements could make a difference.

Freedom from chemical fertilizers & unnecessary import

Singh highlighted agriculture’s contribution to India’s emissions and pointed to the large quantities of crop residue burnt every year. The country generates around 92 million tonnes of paddy straw, much of which creates environmental problems when burnt.

Dependence on chemical fertilisers presents another challenge. India consumes around 78 million tonnes of chemical fertilisers annually, against domestic production of approximately 52 million tonnes, making imports necessary to meet the shortfall. Their manufacturing also depends on imported gas.

Singh said converting agricultural residues into compressed biogas could help address both problems. If 350 million tonnes of crop residue were converted into CBG, it could contribute significantly to reducing waste burning and dependence on imported gas.

Re-carbonising Mother Earth

Beyond reducing emissions, Dinesh Singh stressed the urgent need to restore soil health. Healthy agricultural soil ideally contains around 1–2% carbon, but India’s soil carbon levels are estimated at only 0.3% on average, falling to around 0.2% in arid and semi-arid regions.

He warned that declining soil carbon threatened the foundation of agricultural productivity. “Mother Earth is on the ventilator,” he said, underlining the need to rebuild soil health and replenish organic carbon.

He said that the Reliance Industries’ network of 55 CBG plants has a combined production capacity of 1,100 tonnes of CBG per day. These plants also generate around 11,000 tonnes of FOM daily from the digestate left after biogas production.

Singh said that his company had crossed two million tonnes of cumulative FOM production within just 15 months. The manure was being supplied to farmers to improve soil quality and crop productivity.

“We have already given FOM to the farmers and their yield has increased by 0.5 million tons as we have provided 22-25% soil carbon to Mother Earth.”

He added that Reliance had emerged as the world’s largest FOM-selling company. The company was also developing an ecosystem around its plants, covering areas within a radius of 20 kilometres and encompassing around 200,000 acres of farmland.

Fortification of FOM

Singh acknowledged that changing farmers’ fertiliser preferences would require sustained efforts. Chemical fertilisers remain their first choice, followed by seeds and other agricultural inputs, while organic manure often receives the least attention.

“Let me tell you, the chemical fertilizer is the first choice of the farmer. After this, the seed is second choice. Third is the fertilizer and fourth is the organic manure. And in the organic manure also, this (FOM) is the last one,” said Dinesh Singh.

To improve its acceptance, Reliance is exploring fortified FOM containing NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium). Such products could make organic manure more attractive by addressing farmers’ nutrient requirements while helping restore soil health.

Singh said the government has been promoting CBG and organic manure through agricultural universities, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, horticulture departments and other institutions.

Reliance Industries has been using soil-testing kits to demonstrate the condition of farmland to farmers. Dinesh Singh said that by showing farmers the gaps in their soil quality, the company was trying to establish the practical benefits of FOM and encourage its use. According to Singh, these efforts had helped demonstrate that farmers could become willing buyers when they understood the product’s value.

Case for ‘Freight’ Support

Despite progress in production and farmer outreach, transportation remains a major obstacle to expanding the FOM market. Reliance is developing distribution channels to sell the manure directly to farmers, retailers, traders and business-to-business customers.

Singh argued that the government’s existing support for chemical fertilisers highlighted the need for comparable assistance to help organic alternatives reach the market.

The government provides more than Rs 2 lakh crore in subsidies for chemical fertilisers. “But in case of FOM, it is very difficult to sell because its least priority of the trade, least priority of the dealers and also least priority of the farmers,” said Dinesh Singh.

He called on policymakers to introduce freight support to reduce transportation costs and improve the reach of FOM. Such assistance, he argued, would help producers distribute the manure beyond areas immediately surrounding CBG plants.