Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s austerity appeal for moderating consumption of fertiliser along with reducing consumption of petrol and diesel is pragmatic advice to the people to share their responsibility through a collective response to the economic challenges posed by the rising import bill pushed by the ongoing West Asia crisis. For the Northeast region, it presents an opportunity to showcase its age-old sustainable agricultural practice of organic farming to build self-reliance and balance soil health. The Northeast region continues to remain the lowest consumer of chemical fertiliser, with the highest consumption in Assam still far below the national average. The present fertiliser crisis shows that the Green Revolution bypassing the Northeastern states was a blessing in disguise, even though its farming practices remained at subsistence level due to low productivity. As half of India’s imported fertiliser comes from West Asia and the country is heavily dependent on imports for natural gas required for fertiliser production, the central government’s fertiliser subsidy bill is projected to overshoot the Union Budget estimates, deepening the strain on the exchequer. Under the prevailing fertiliser policy, the difference between the delivered cost of urea at the farm gate and net market realisation by the urea units is given as a subsidy to the urea manufacturers and importers by the central government to facilitate the supply of urea at the subsidised rates fixed by the government. The Urea Subsidy Scheme makes it mandatory to provide the fertiliser to the farmers at a statutorily notified Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of Rs. 242 per bag of 45 kg urea (exclusive of charges towards neem coating and taxes as applicable). For the nutrient-based subsidy scheme of the central government, companies are free to determine the prices of phosphate and potassic fertilisers, and the government provides subsidies to the manufacturers and importers based on nutrient content on an actual sale basis so that retail prices of these fertilisers remain affordable for farmers. India’s annual consumption of urea is 34 million MT, of which about 30% is imported. Urea accounts for 70% of the fertiliser subsidy bill. As natural gas, the raw material for the production of urea, constitutes 90 per cent of the cost of urea, extreme volatility in prices of crude oil and natural gas due to the West Asia crisis, which is beyond India’s control, has deepened the crisis in the country. Besides, the country imports nearly 95% of its phosphate requirements and is 100% dependent on imports of potash, and, therefore, global supply chain disruption and price volatility keep domestic prices on the boil. For state governments in the region, prioritising implementation of the Mission Organic Value Chain Development in North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER), a central sector scheme aimed at production of certified organic products and developing organic value, can help position the region as a national leader in sustainable agriculture that reduces consumption of chemical fertiliser. Even though most agricultural production in the region is organic by default, the producers and traders have failed to optimally tap the markets of this organic farm produce despite steady demand growth in the domestic and export markets merely because of inadequate organic certification facilities in the region. Ironically, both the MOVCDNER scheme for the Northeast region and the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana scheme in other states for promoting organic farming stress end-to-end support to farmers engaged in organic farming, i.e., from production to processing, certification & marketing and post-harvest management training and capacity building. This calls for the establishment of more certification bodies, at least one in each state of the region, accredited by the National Accreditation Body for Organic Products under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) on a priority basis. A product is allowed to be exported as an organic product from India only when it is accompanied by a transaction certificate issued by a certification body accredited by NPOP. The low productivity of organic farm produce due to dependence on traditional, like plant-based bio-fertiliser, compost from plant residues, forest biomass, vermicompost, cow dung, cow urine, etc. in the region, can be offset by premium prices such chemical-free products fetch in the domestic and export market due to their growing demand fuelled by health-consciousness, provided the products are accompanied by organic certification. The central government focuses on incentivising organic farming, as studies conducted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research established that soil with organic farming practices has higher biotic abundance, biotic richness and soil carbon, which help soil to hold water, store nutrients and reduce carbon in the atmosphere. Preservation and documentation of traditional organic farming prevalent among indigenous communities of the region can go a long way in advancing the research on organic farming towards building resilience of the country’s agriculture sector against external shocks in agricultural inputs availability but also increasing endurance against climate change impact. The Northeast region is uniquely placed to show the pathway to organic transition.