In a move set to redefine the future of Indian agriculture, ICL, a global leader in crop nutrition, has announced a long-term strategic partnership with BioPrime AgriSolutions, one of India’s fastest-growing agri-biological innovators. The collaboration will scale BioPrime’s pioneering Bionexus platform across the country, delivering next-generation soil and crop health solutions aimed at tackling some of India’s most urgent agronomic challenges.

The partnership’s initial focus will be on enhancing Nutrient Use Efficiency (NUE), a critical lever for both farm productivity and sustainability. India, which consumes nearly 12 per cent of the world’s phosphate, remains heavily reliant on imports. Yet up to 85 per cent of applied phosphorus is rendered unavailable to plants due to soil fixation—an inefficiency that drains farmer profitability and places enormous pressure on natural resources. Compounding the challenge, 48 per cent of Indian soils are zinc-deficient, a number projected to climb to nearly two-thirds of arable land as soil fertility declines, particularly across the southern states.

Phosphorus, in particular, presents a uniquely Indian problem. Unlike other regions where phosphorus binds with calcium, making recovery relatively straightforward, Indian soils often lock phosphorus with iron and aluminum complexes—forms that are notoriously hard to break down. Conventional solutions have proven largely ineffective, leading to chronically low Phosphorus Use Efficiency (PUE) and escalating fertilizer costs for farmers.

BioPrime’s Bionexus platform has identified novel microbial strains with the rare ability to unlock these Fe/Al-bound phosphorus reserves. Early trials have demonstrated the potential to boost PUE by two to three times—a breakthrough that could fundamentally change how Indian farmers approach phosphorus nutrition. Similarly, Bionexus has developed microbial strains capable of achieving 65–70 per cent solubilization of zinc, dramatically improving the availability of this critical micronutrient.

“This is not just about better fertilizers,” said Renuka Karandikar, Co-founder and CEO of BioPrime AgriSolutions. “Our mission has always been to harness the power of biology to solve agriculture’s toughest challenges. ICL’s global leadership and expertise give us the scale and reach to deliver our Bionexus-powered solutions to millions of farmers. Together, we are building a new model for nutrient use efficiency, restoring soil health, and making Indian agriculture more resilient to climate and resource pressures.”

For ICL, the partnership represents a strategic expansion of its innovation-led approach to sustainable crop nutrition in India. “We are committed to advancing sustainable agriculture with solutions that enhance both productivity and profitability for growers,” said Anant Kulkarni, Country Lead, ICL Growing Solutions India. “Our R&D-driven portfolio of water-soluble fertilizers, when combined with the power of bio-stimulants and bio-fertilizers, will enable farmers to use resources more efficiently, reduce wastage, and strengthen India’s food security in a responsible way.”

The collaboration also marks the first commercial deployment of BioPrime’s BioNexus Library, a proprietary collection of over 18,000 unique microbial strains with applications across soil health, nutrient cycling, and crop stress resilience. By leveraging ICL’s distribution network and on-ground presence, these innovations will be accessible to farmers nationwide—ensuring that cutting-edge science is translated into real-world impact.

For India’s agricultural sector, where fertilizer subsidies run into billions of dollars annually and input costs continue to rise, the ICL-BioPrime alliance could prove transformative. By doubling or tripling nutrient efficiency, farmers stand to reduce costs, improve yields, and lower the environmental footprint of crop production—ushering in a new era of sustainable, profitable farming.