The government has registered 101 more biostimulants this week under the Fertiliser Control Order (FCO) taking the total notified formulations to 146.
Through the extraordinary gazette notifications on August 13, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, notified the biostimulant product formulations such as extracts of seaweed, Brassica Juncea seed extract, Cytokinin, Glutamic acid, Humalite, Humic acid and Fulvic acid derivatives among others.
Earlier in May this year, the government had notified 34 biostimulants, while 11 were registered during May 2024. In 2021, the biostimulants were officially incorporated into the FCO, categorising them as distinct class of fertilisers.
“While the Agriculture Ministry has notified 101 product formulations, it may take another six months to one year for the companies to get the approvals from the state governments and start actual manufacturing,” said Vipin Saini, CEO, Biological Agri Solutions Association of India (BASAI), a body of biostimulant manufacturers. States take their own time in approving the products and also the manufacturers have to go to every state to seek the approval, he added.
“While it is a good news that 101 product formulations have been approved, there are another 477 product applications that are still pending for scrutiny,” Saini added. However, Saini also pointed out that though 45 products were approved in earlier, many companies have still not got the permission from the state government to sell those products in many states.
Biostimulants is a very fragmented market in India, where the small manufacturers dominate the segment, unlike the other agri-input categories. The Indian bio-input market is estimated at around $211 million, while the global market size is pegged at $3.39 billion.
Saini said biostimulants are frontline tools in climate-resilient agriculture — helping plants withstand drought, salinity, extreme temperatures and other climate-induced stresses. Unlike traditional inputs, they improve nutrient use efficiency, soil carbon and root development, enabling farmers to produce more with less. These products can be tailored to specific crops, geographies and soil types, making them highly adaptive to India’s vast agro-climatic diversity. They align directly with India’s vision of Natural Farming, Atmanirbhar Krishi and the Carbon Neutrality roadmap, he added.
Published on August 15, 2025