IFFCO is the acronym for the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited, a multi-state cooperative society and institution engaged in the manufacture and marketing of fertilisers. It was registered on November 3, 1967, as a multi-unit cooperative society, with its headquarters in New Delhi. The cooperative was conceived to solve the problem of a widening demand-supply gap for fertilisers and to give farmers independence from public and private sector suppliers during the Green Revolution era. The primary objective was the production and distribution of fertilisers to Indian farmers at affordable prices.
IFFCO works on a cooperative mechanism, being owned and controlled by farmers through their own cooperative societies. It started with 57 member cooperatives in 1967 and has since grown to encompass around 35,000 to 36,000 member cooperative societies, reaching over 50 million Indian farmers. The society is deemed to be registered as a Multi-state Cooperative Society following the enactment of the Multistate Co-operative Societies Act, 2002. IFFCO is India's largest fertiliser manufacturer, holding approximately 19% market share in urea and about 31% in complex fertilisers.
The institution connects to the broader cooperative movement and the Ministry of Cooperation, with its activities aligning with national missions like "Atmanirbhar Bharat" and "Sahkar Se Samriddhi". Related institutions include its subsidiaries and joint ventures, such as IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Company Ltd., which provides rural insurance, and the Jordan India Fertilizer Company L.L.C., which enhances global supply chains.
IFFCO has changed recently by focusing on the introduction of nano-fertilisers as an eco-friendly alternative to conventional chemical fertilisers. It launched nano urea in liquid form in June 2021 and nano-DAP in March 2023. The cooperative is aiming to replace 10% of the country's conventional urea and DAP consumption with these nano-variants over the next few years. While the core function of manufacturing and distributing conventional fertilisers like Urea, DAP, and NPK remains the same, the shift to nano-fertilisers represents a major technological and product diversification.