Iran shock hits fertilizer supply. But the answer may be up in the air

Swaminathan Anklesaria Aiyar
Mar 21, 2026 | 20:07 IST
Eye On Sky and Soil: Air-extracted fertilizers can counter high subsidies and help improve soil quality

Why not just extract these fertilizers out of our polluted air, reducing health hazards even while making India a massive fertilizer producer?

The war on Iran has not just interrupted supplies of cooking gas and crude but also fertilizers and raw materials (mainly liquefied natural gas) for manufacturing fertilizers in India. Agricultural experts are now demanding major projects for improving fertilizer self-sufficiency, entailing huge capital outlays that will take decades to implement.

Yet, an intriguing, underexplored possibility lies much closer to home. India suffers from terrible air pollution, with high emissions of nitrogen and sulphur contributing to the muck. This is a major health threat. Particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns (PM2.5) causes fatal heart and respiratory diseases.
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