The scale of the problem is vast, too. Some 65 per cent of the population – estimated at 1,027 million in 2001 – is engaged in agriculture and there are perhaps 25 million farmers and smallholders, two thirds of whom own their own land.

Borax works alongside government organizations and markets its specialty products though national fertilizer companies such as Rallis India Ltd, part of the Tata conglomerate. As an importer, Borax must officially register its products as suitable for agricultural use.

The company makes full use of India's commercial infrastructure to disseminate knowledge about boron agronomy. Rallis itself has a large number of dealers and distributors throughout the country and many local traders stock micronutrients in small quantities which farmers can afford. The message Martin sends is that a relatively small expenditure on micro nutrients can help farmers realize a large benefit in terms of increased yields and profits.

Print and radio and TV advertising campaigns help broadcast the message, and field staff give out samples of Borax products, along with appropriate literature, at local seminars targeting farmers. Giving a farmer a small sachet of Solubor̠ (water soluble sodium borate), for example, will enable him to spray a couple of acres of land Рand see almost immediate results.

Says Martin: “There are two main avenues to apply boron; one is to mix it with other fertilizers and the other is direct application to the soil as a granulated product or to foliage as a spray.”

The primary fertilizers used in agriculture are compounds of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (potash). Proper application of micronutrients will, over time, stimulate greater uptake of these macronutrients by the same crops. So a programme of systematic micronutrient application can set a steady pattern of demand growth for fertilizer blends with added boron.

From a purely commercial point of view, incorporating boron into a base fertilizer, at an appropriate and safe dose rate, would appear to offer a way forward.