India’s Biogas Association said on Sunday that the government’s initiative to promote the use of organic fertilizers could add $2.6 billion in revenue to the biogas industry.
The government has announced amendments encouraging the use of organic fertilizers for more ecologically friendly agricultural methods, the IBA said in a statement.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare made several changes to the 1985 fertilizer (inorganic, organic, or mixed) (control) order, and included “organic carbon enhancers” from compressed biogas (CBG) plants as a new type of fertilizer.
The changes introduced in February 2025 are said to be beneficial to farmers and the environment as they will help improve the country’s agriculture.
AR Shukla, chairman of India’s Biogas Association, welcomed the amendment and said it will help improve soil health and alleviate global warming.
According to the IBA, organic fertilizers produced through the biogas factory fermentation process can generate additional revenue for the industry.
The organic carbon enhancer concentrates soil with organic carbon, which promotes plant growth and maintains agricultural productivity, and points out that India’s soil organic carbon content has decreased from 1% in the past 70 years to 0.3%.
It also states that there is a large profit margin and revenue generated from this development in the industry.
India currently produces around 1 million tonnes of fermented organic fertilizer, a by-product from CBG plants. The figures say the expansion of the biogas project could surge to 7 million tonnes, and are sufficient to cover the fertilizer needs of the region, such as Rajasthan.
Government support will increase the demand for organic fertilizers and ultimately the number of CBG plants, which will benefit the biogas industry, waste and Western initiatives. This will improve economic growth.
The IBA said it is advocating a scheme on the pattern of satat (sustainable alternative to affordable transportation) for application to fermented organic fertilizers.
The IBA says it estimates a minimum of $2.6 billion of industry players’ revenue additions from SOLID-FOM when it fully realizes the potential of SATAT.
He added that this figure would increase two or three more times if realizations from liquid FOM were considered.
