Market Development Assistance (MDA-FERT) 2026: ₹1,500/MT Subsidy & Eligibility

At a glance

About the scheme

Launched by the Department of Fertilizers under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, the Market Development Assistance (MDA-FERT) scheme promotes the production and commercial sale of organic fertilizers like Fermented Organic Manure, Liquid Fermented Organic Manure, and Phosphate Rich Organic Manure. It supports plants established under programmes like SATAT, Waste to Energy, and Swachh Bharat Mission. The initiative provides ₹1,500 per Metric Tonne to marketing entities while requiring benefits to be passed to farmers through lower retail prices, backed by a research gap funding corpus for recognized non-private research and cooperative entities.

Benefits

• Market Development Assistance of ₹1,500 per Metric Tonne for the sale of Fermented Organic Manure (FOM), Liquid Fermented Organic Manure (LFOM), and enriched Phosphate Rich Organic Manure (PROM).
• Access to a dedicated research gap funding corpus of ₹3,60,00,00,000 for Central and State Research Institutes and non-private fertilizer cooperatives.
• Support backed by an overall scheme budget outlay of ₹14,51,82,00,000 covering Financial Year 2023-24 to Financial Year 2025-26.
• Direct subsidy disbursal generated through the Integrated Fertilizer Management System (IFMS) portal via Direct Benefit Transfer.

Who can apply (eligibility)

• The applicant must be a manufacturing-cum-marketing entity, a Bio-gas or Compressed Bio-Gas operator, a marketer, a distributor, or an established Fertilizer Marketing Company under the GOBARdhan initiative.
• The manufacturing plant must be established under umbrella initiatives such as SATAT, Waste to Energy, or Swachh Bharat Mission.
• The manufacturing units must be registered on the unified GOBARdhan portal of the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
• The marketed fertilizers must be Fermented Organic Manure, Liquid Fermented Organic Manure, or enriched Phosphate Rich Organic Manure.
• The products must strictly conform to specifications outlined in the Fertilizer Control Order (FCO), 1985.
• The products must undergo quality testing at Government-notified laboratories or NABL-accredited testing laboratories.
• The sales must be executed in packed form (or approved loose form) and transacted through Point of Sale (POS) machines.

Who cannot apply

• Private fertilizer cooperatives are not eligible to access the ₹3,60,00,00,000 research gap funding corpus.
• Fertilizer quantities sold without using Point of Sale (POS) machines are excluded from assistance.
• Any sales priced above the printed net Maximum Retail Price are strictly prohibited and non-compliant.
• Fertilizers failing to comply with the Fertilizer Control Order, 1985 specifications are not covered.

Documents required

• Letter intimating willingness to market organic fertilizers.
• Purchasing agreement for supply of FOM, LFOM, or PROM (if marketing through Fertilizer Marketing Companies).
• Annexure-I operational details form (for Fertilizer Marketing Companies) or Annexure-II form (for Manufacturers).
• Tax Identification Number (TIN) Certificate of the company.
• Permanent Account Number (PAN) Card of the company.
• Company bank account details (account number, IFSC, account holder name, bank branch address).
• Registration certificate from the unified GOBARdhan portal.
• Quantity Certificate for Organic Fertilizers (Proforma B1-MDA).
• Quality Certificate for Organic Fertilizers (Proforma B2-MDA) validated by State Agriculture Department or State Energy Development Agency.
• Quality test report from a Government-notified laboratory or NABL-accredited private laboratory.
• Proforma for Claiming Payment of Market Development Assistance digitally signed by an authorized officer and Chartered Accountant/Statutory Auditor.
• Stock registers, production reports, gate passes, dispatches, and sales records for verification.

How to apply

1. 1Visit the unified GOBARdhan portal of the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation and register your Bio-Gas or Compressed Bio-Gas manufacturing unit.
2. 2Submit all necessary plant and operational details on the GOBARdhan portal to obtain your mandatory registration number.
3. 3Send a physical letter intimating your willingness to market organic fertilizers along with Annexure-I or Annexure-II to the Department of Fertilizers.
4. 4Register on the Integrated Fertilizer Management System (IFMS) portal to receive a unique identification number allotted by the Department of Fertilizers.
5. 5Log in to the IFMS portal and regularly upload operational data including production volume, sales figures, MRP, stock levels, and quality reports.
6. 6Conduct laboratory testing for your fertilizer batches and get the test reports certified by the State Agriculture Department or State Energy Development Agency to receive the B2-MDA certificate.
7. 7Generate and submit your Direct Benefit Transfer subsidy claims along with the quality certificates on the IFMS portal within two months of the sale.

Frequently asked questions