January 30, 2025

JIRCAS, in collaboration with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), has demonstrated the potential of BNI (Biological Nitrification Inhibition)-enhanced sorghum to both reduce environmental impacts and improve farmer profitability, using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology.

BNI-enhanced crops are being developed to achieve high yields with lower nitrogen fertilizer input. LCA is being used to scientifically predict the environmental and economic benefits of such technologies in advance, helping to set R&D priorities and support real-world implementation. This study focused on sorghum, a traditional and essential staple in India, and evaluated its potential to reduce environmental impact through BNI functions.

Field surveys were conducted in Maharashtra, India’s largest sorghum-producing state, to gather data on production costs. The surveys revealed that despite the potential of BNI sorghum, farmers may not reduce nitrogen fertilizer use due to the government subsidy program, highlighting a gap between environmental technologies and current agricultural policy.

Two scenarios were evaluated assuming a 30% nitrification suppression rate:

Scenario 1: Maintaining Yield While Reducing Fertilizer Use

• Nitrogen fertilizer reduction:
  • Rabi (dry season): 8.0%
  • Kharif (rainy season): 7.4%
• GHG emissions reduction:
  • Per area: 15.6%
  • Per yield: 11.2%
• Fertilizer subsidy reduction (Rabi): 9.1%
• Farmer profit: Slight increase

Scenario 2: Maintaining Fertilizer Use to Maximize Yield
(Assuming subsidies remain unchanged)

• GHG emissions reduction:
  • Per area (Rabi/Kharif): 11.3% / 8.1%
  • Per yield: 13.5% / 10.2%
• Yield increase: 2.5% (Rabi), 2.4% (Kharif)
• Farmer profit increase: 4.9% (Rabi), 6.5% (Kharif)

The results suggest that BNI-enhanced sorghum is an innovative technology that can contribute to both GHG reduction and farm income improvement, regardless of whether nitrogen application is reduced. In nitrogen-intensive regions like India, this technology could enable yield maintenance while cutting emissions and subsidy costs. In low-input regions, it could boost productivity, contributing to more sustainable food systems.

Furthermore, the findings highlight the need to align fertilizer subsidy policies with environmental goals, offering critical insights for the development of climate-smart agriculture policies.

This research was published online in the journal Science of the Total Environment on November 14, 2024 (Japan Time).

Related Information

Funding

Operational Expenses Grant Project: “Development of planet-friendly agricultural production system using biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) technology”

Authors

LEON Ai, Swamikannu Nedumaran

Paper Title

Estimating the effect of biological nitrification inhibition-enabled sorghum on nitrogen fertilizer consumption, life cycle GHG emissions, farmer's benefit and fertilizer subsidy from Indian sorghum production

Journal Title

Science of the Total Environment
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.177385

JIRCAS President: KOYAMA Osamu

Program Director:

HAYASHI Keiichi

Research Staff:

LEON Ai (Social Sciences Division)

Press Coordinator:

OMORI Keisuke (Head Information and Public Relations Office)
Email: koho-jircas@ml.affrc.go.jp