IFDC Solutions

FDP
Fertilizer
Deep
Placement
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Fertilizer Deep Placement
The global population is expected to increase from more than 7 billion today to 9.2 billion by 2050, creating
enormous challenges as the world’s farmers work to provide adequate quantities of nutritious food. Farmers in a
number of developing countries are using fertilizer deep placement (FDP) technology to increase crop yields and
incomes, reduce the amount of fertilizer used and lessen environmental damage to the atmosphere and water.

What is FDP Technology?

Working with farmers (particularly in Bangladesh) for over 20 years, IFDC developed FDP as a more effective
alternative to the traditional method of applying fertilizer by surface broadcasting (spreading, usually by hand)
across a field or paddy. FDP is an innovative, proven fertilizer application technology that achieves average yield
increases of 18 percent while reducing fertilizer use by about one-third. Compared with broadcasting, farmers
using FDP have increased incremental annual incomes by more than US $200 per hectare (ha).1

FDP consists of 2 key components. The first is a fertilizer ‘briquette,’ produced by compacting commercially
available solid fertilizers. IFDC staff designed a sturdy ‘briquetter,’ suitable to operating conditions in developing
countries. A briquetter produces 1- to 3-gram briquettes that are much larger than conventional fertilizer
granules (Photographs 1-4). FDP briquettes are currently produced by more than 1,000 entrepreneurs with small-
scale briquetting machines. Village-level briquetter operators sell fertilizer briquettes to farmers and fertilizer
stockists. Briquettes can also be produced by commercial fertilizer manufacturing facilities.

The second key component of FDP is the placement of briquettes below the soil surface. When used to fertilize
irrigated rice, briquettes are centered between 4 plants at a depth of 7-10 centimeters within 7 days after
transplanting. Placement is done either by hand or with a mechanical applicator (Photographs 5-6). Thus placed,
the briquette releases nitrogen (N) gradually, coinciding with the crop’s requirements during the growing season.

The most widely used nitrogen fertilizer is urea, which contains 46 percent N, the highest of all solid fertilizers.
While the majority of FDP activity has focused on urea briquettes to fertilize irrigated transplanted rice, blends
of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (the 3 primary nutrients needed for optimum crop growth) have
also been successfully compacted into briquettes to improve yields of rice and other crops. Micronutrients
(critical to the health of plants and humans) also have been added successfully to briquettes under research
conditions.

1
Based upon 2012 prices paid by farmers for fertilizers and prices received for rice.

1 2 4
5 1) Prilled urea is poured into a briquetter. 2) A briquetter produces briquettes. 3) FDP briquettes. 4) The relative size of
briquettes is shown.
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5 6
5 5) Farmers hand-place fertilizer briquettes in a rice paddy. 6) A farmer uses a mechanical applicator to deep-place briquettes.

How Does FDP Work?

When urea is broadcast in flooded rice fields, a large proportion of the N is wasted – lost through runoff, volatilization
(atmospheric evaporation) and nitirification/denitrification. Denitrification also produces N2O, a harmful greenhouse
gas that contributes to climate change. Additional amounts of N are converted to nitrates, which are mobile in the soil
and can contaminate groundwater. Nitrogen can also pollute nearby waterways if runoff/floodwater escapes a field’s
containment barriers.

With FDP, urea is deep-placed into the soil, where the majority remains in the form of ammonium, which is much
less mobile than nitrates. As a consequence, more N is available to the crop throughout its growth cycle. Therefore,
losses to the atmosphere, groundwater and waterways are drastically reduced. Only about 4 percent of the N is lost to
the environment, compared with about 35 percent when N is applied via broadcasting (Figure 1). FDP dramatically
improves a crop’s absorption of N – two-thirds is absorbed by the rice grain and straw (post-harvest residue),
compared with one-third when the broadcast application method is used (Figure 2, page 3).
Figure 1
3 Labor Needed for FDP Rice: The Essential Food for
While deep-placing briquettes is more labor- Nearly Half the World
intensive than broadcasting, FDP is done only once, Rice is the staple food crop for more than 3 billion
but broadcasting urea is commonly done 2 or even people and is cultivated in over 100 countries on 6
3 times per season. However, IFDC, several research continents. Rice provides employment for over
institutes and private sector entrepreneurs are 1 billion people in southern and southeastern Asia,
working to perfect mechanical applicators that will as well as in other developing regions of the world.
decrease the labor needed to deep-place briquettes. Farmers who also consume their rice harvests
Fewer weeds grow when FDP is used, decreasing constitute the bulk of the world’s population that
weeding labor and often offsetting additional lives in poverty. More than 90 percent of all rice is
application labor. Finally, IFDC research and farmer grown in Asia, where half of the global population
results validate that FDP technology produces higher and 80 percent of the world’s poor are concentrated.
average rice yields than broadcasting, which requires
additional high-cost urea per ha. Any increased labor China, India and Indonesia grow the most rice. Much
costs are more than compensated for by farmers’ smaller Bangladesh is the world’s fourth-largest rice
savings on fertilizer, decreased weeding costs and producer; farmers there produced nearly 32 million
increased rice yields. metric tons (mmt) in 2010 on 11.36 million ha. In
contrast, Sub-Saharan Africa – with a land area of
Benefits of FDP 23.6 million square kilometers (nearly 200 times
• For Farmers: FDP decreases production larger than Bangladesh) produced only 21.5 mmt of
costs (because an average of 33 percent less rice on 10 million ha in 2010. Nonetheless, African
fertilizer is used), increases yield (an average rice production has risen 31 percent in the past
of 15 to 18 percent, depending upon the crop 10 years. In fact, rice has become the second most
and season), increases incomes and improves important cereal crop in Sub-Saharan Africa.
household food security. In rice cropping
systems, farmers achieve additional yield FDP and Rice Production
increases averaging 800 kilograms (kg)/ha.
• Increases yields by 15-18 percent compared
While the gross margin achieved depends
with fertilizer broadcasting.
upon many factors (including fertilizer and
crop prices), Bangladeshi rice farmers using • Reduces urea expenditures by about one-third.
FDP have gross margins that exceed $200/ha.2 • Improves grain quality, which may generate
• For Entrepreneurs/Dealers: FDP provides higher market prices.
profitable business opportunities and • Ensures nitrogen availability throughout the
contributes to local economic development. growing season, resulting in fewer applications
In Bangladesh, net returns to dealers who of fertilizer.
manufacture briquettes average about $1
per 50-kg bag, or about $20/metric ton (mt). • Decreases N losses from volatilization,
In the first year of operation, most achieve nitrification and denitrification (greenhouse
sales of more than 60 mt. gas emissions) and nitrogen contamination of
floodwater runoff.
• For the National Economy: FDP increases
rural employment and crop production, • Encourages better water management and line
decreases fertilizer use (and, therefore, the transplanting. Thus, weeding is easier and less
cost of government fertilizer subsidies where labor-intensive. The cost of hired weeding labor is
they are used), increases food security, reduced by 25-35 percent.
reduces rice imports and increases the gross • Rice straw contains more nitrogen and therefore
domestic product. is a better livestock feed.
• For the Environment: FDP reduces N Figure 2
volatilization and emissions of harmful
greenhouse gases, as well as groundwater 2Two-thirds
out of 3 bags
of ureaof urea go
broadcast
and waterway contamination. Because FDP in
doubles N utilization, the fuel required to unused in wetland riceis
wetland rice production
lost to the environment.
produce urea is decreased by 50 percent, also production
reducing greenhouse gases.

2
Annual incomes in Bangladesh average $848.
“The deep placement of urea briquettes 4

has helped transform 627,000 hectares of

land...leading to the first-ever rice surplus in
Bangladesh’s poorest state, home to more
than 2.2 million people. The innovation is as
simple as it is effective. Instead of applying
urea, a nitrogen fertilizer, to the soil – where
as much as 70 percent is lost to runoff or the
atmosphere – it is compacted into briquettes
“
and buried near plant roots, where it releases
nitrogen slowly.
– USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah at the 2012 World Food Conference

Benefits for Bangladesh

Working with its local and national partners, IFDC introduced FDP and other improved agricultural
management practices in Bangladesh in the mid-1980s, generating significant agronomic, economic and
environmental benefits. Currently, more than 2.5 million Bangladeshi farmers are using FDP (Figure 3), and its
use is being expanded to an additional 1 million farmers across the country.

FDP has helped Bangladesh improve food security as well. With 2 crops per year, FDP provides an additional 4.9
persons with their annual rice needs per ha. In 2012, the increased value of rice was $176.22 million, the value of
incremental sales was $48.69 million and the Government of Bangladesh saved more than $29 million in fertilizer
purchases and subsidies.
Figure 3

Greater Yields With Less Fertilizer in Bangladesh

6,432
7,676 Adoption
Bangladesh Paddy  Yield  (kg/ha)  
• 1.32 million 9,000  
7,676  
hectares 8,000  
7,000   6,432  
• 2.5 million farmers
6,000  
• 120,000 mt of
(kg/ha)  

5,000   Paddy  Yield  

(kg/ha)

urea saved  77  kg  N/ha  

4,000   (kg/ha)  
• 860,000 mt of 125  kg  N/ha  
3,000  
additional rice
2,000  
yield
1,000  
0  
Broadcast   Deep  Placement  

2012 Figures (Boro season)

5 Into Africa: FDP Brings Hope for Dramatically Increased Yields
The African continent ranks eighth in global paddy rice production (with the majority grown in West Africa). Rice
has become the staple food for millions of Africans and is a major part of the diets of many others. However, even
though African production has increased at an annual rate of 6 percent, Africa remains a net importer of rice.
Domestically grown supplies simply have been inadequate to keep pace with rising demand.

Population pressure on Africa’s arable land forces smallholder farmers to farm on marginal lands with infertile
soil and to use cultivated land more intensively. Intensive farming is beneficial, but because fertilizer prices are
much higher in Africa than the rest of the world, mineral fertilizer use is low and soil nutrients are being depleted.
Consequently, yields are well below their potential and food production has not matched population growth in
many African countries, resulting in chronic food insecurity.

IFDC began its African FDP initiative in 2009, targeting 13 countries across the continent (Figure 4). The objective
is to use a market-driven approach to significantly increase rice yields through the use of FDP, hybrid rice varieties
and improved water management practices. Initial results indicate increased net incomes for smallholder
farmers, a reduced need for costly fertilizers and imported rice and decreased environmental damage.

To date, Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria have generated the best results. As in Bangladesh, FDP’s advantages
are proven. Rice yields with FDP (compared with broadcasting) average 30 percent more (an additional
1.2 mt/ha). In double cropping systems (2 rice crops per year), farmers are realizing about $400 in additional
annual income per ha than farmers using traditional practices.
Figure 4

Rice Yield Increases Resulting from FDP Technology:

Africa 2010
UDP* Broadcast** Incremental Yield
UDP FP ȴY
8,000
7,000
6,000
Grain Yield (kg/ha)

5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0

* selected ‘best practice’ fields using 78 kg N/ha applied by deep placement method
** selected ‘best practice’ fields using 115 kg N/ha applied by broadcast method

Moving forward, FDP is anticipated to generate the following benefits in Sub-Saharan Africa:
• Irrigated rice yields will increase from the current average of 2.1 mt/ha (farmer practice) to 6-7 mt/ha.
• Fertilizer efficiency in irrigated rice will increase from the current average of about 30 percent to 50-60 percent.
• Incomes of participating resource-poor rice farmers will increase as much as 25 percent.
• Local entrepreneurs will invest in and profit from the production and sale of FDP briquettes.
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FDP Use in Other Crops

While FDP has been used most widely on rice, initial field trials
indicate that the technology is well-suited to vegetable and cereal
crops (including sorghum, maize and wheat) that are dependent
on N for full growth, as well as other crops such as sunflowers. In
Bangladesh, 15-20 percent increases in maize yields have been
achieved with FDP, while farmers use 15-20 percent less N. FDP’s
viability is being evaluated in wheat production in Ethiopia, and
farmers and researchers in a number of countries are using FDP to
grow vegetables and other high-value crops.

Because FDP briquettes have a consistent weight, smallholder

farmers can provide relatively precise amounts of primary nutrients
according to crop demand. FDP also has the potential to address
secondary and micronutrient deficiencies, now recognized as
a serious yield constraint (and human health issue). Additional
nutrient incorporation into briquettes could further improve the
economic and health benefits of fertilizer investments.

IFDC is conducting extensive research to validate FDP’s agronomic

performance and economic returns in various cropping systems.
Ongoing collaboration with national agricultural research
organizations is also a staple of FDP testing and validation. IFDC’s
links with Ministries of Agriculture have helped to efficiently and
effectively navigate the public sector legal framework that applies
to fertilizers. 5 Farmers in Nangarhar Province of
Afghanistan use FDP on vegetable crops.

The Next Steps for FDP

FDP is a field-tested technology that increases crop yields, uses less fertilizer and decreases environmental
damage. While the progress made to date is encouraging (particularly in Bangladesh with irrigated transplanted
rice), the potential for FDP expansion remains immense. Research by IFDC and other organizations is underway
to evaluate FDP’s potential on a variety of crops, and the technology is being used and evaluated in about 20
countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa.
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selection of publications, please visit
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