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Fertiliser Overuse & Nitrogen Pollution with Esha Zaveri

In this episode, Esha Zaveri and Veena Srinivasan zoom in to India’s use of urea for agriculture, large fertiliser subsidies, low nitrogen use efficiency, groundwater exposure, and the challenge of legacy nitrogen that slows water-quality recovery.

Oct 14, 2025

Nitrogen has been feeding billions, but it is now overloading our soils, waters, and air. Why is the fertiliser that fuels our food supply also creating a massive pollution problem? How do India’s large fertiliser subsidies fit into this, and what are the long-term health risks of “legacy nitrogen” already in our groundwater?

Esha Zaveri, Senior Economist at the World Bank joins host Veena Srinivasan on Season 2, Episode 7 of the Water Data Podcast.

Esha Zaveri is trained as an environmental economist. Her core work addresses issues at the intersection of environmental health, agricultural impacts, water resources, climate change, and development policy, spanning global to region- and country-level assessments in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.

 



In this episode, Esha and Veena zoom into India’s use of urea for agriculture, large fertiliser subsidies, low nitrogen use efficiency, groundwater exposure, and the challenge of legacy nitrogen that slows water-quality recovery. Further Esha also lays out how to cut pollution without cutting yields.

Esha explains why only a fraction of fertiliser reaches crops, why the rest leaks into groundwater and coasts, the health risks (from blue baby syndrome to emerging low-level exposure links), and the policy levers that work, agronomy, enhanced-efficiency fertilisers, extension services, and redirecting subsidies to support farmer transitions.

 

Suggested Readings:

  1. Esha Zaveri’s personal website
  2. Haber-Bosch process
  3. Damania, Richard; Ebadi, Ebad; Mayr, Kentaro; Russ, Jason; Zaveri, Esha. 2025.
    Reboot Development: The Economics of a Livable Planet. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/43522 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
  4. Damania, Richard; Balseca, Esteban; de Fontaubert, Charlotte; Gill, Joshua; Kim, Kichan; Rentschler, Jun; Russ, Jason; Zaveri, Esha. 2023. Detox Development: Repurposing Environmentally Harmful Subsidies. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/39423 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
  5. WHO guidelines on Nitrate- Nitrogen
    https://www.who.int/teams/environment-climate-change-and-health/water-sanitation-and-health/chemical-hazards-in-drinking-water/nitrate-nitrite
  6. Zaveri, Esha. 2025. Fixing Nitrogen: Agricultural Productivity, Environmental Fragility, and the Role of Subsidies. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/42737 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO
  7. Zaveri, Esha; Russ, Jason; Desbureaux, Sebastien; Damania, Richard; Rodella, Aude-Sophie; Ribeiro, Giovanna. 2020. The Nitrogen Legacy: The Long-Term Effects of Water Pollution on Human Capital. Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9143. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33319 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO
  8. Fayaz, S.; Kanth, R.H.; Bhat, T.A.; Valipour, M.; Iqbal, R.; Munir, A.; Nazir, A.; Mir, M.S.; Ahanger, S.A.; Al-Ashkar, I.; et al. Leaf Color Chart (LCC)-Based Precision Nitrogen Management for Assessing Phenology, Agrometeorological Indices and Sustainable Yield of Hybrid Maize Genotypes under Temperate Climate. Agronomy 2022, 12, 2981. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12122981

The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water hosted by Veena Srinivasan.

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Recording by Nabina Chakraborty and Ritik Pathak.

Video editing by Nabina Chakraborty.

Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar

Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode

Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath

 

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