Fertiliser 'shortage' may hit kharif crop sowing
New Delhi: Even though the Centre has increased subsidy on nutrient-based fertilisers to the tune of Rs 60,940 for the upcoming kharif season, the farmers have raised their concern that non-availability of fertilisers at stores would hit the sowing of kharif crops.
As the sowing of cotton, soybean and other crops to start from the mid of May, the non-availability of fertilisers at retail shops is adding to the woes of the farmers. According to Bhagwan Meena, a farmer from Madhya Pradesh, the growers are bound to procure a 50 kg bag of DAP by paying about Rs 250 to Rs 300 extra against the maximum retail price (MRP) of Rs 1,350/bag.
"It's a welcome decision, which has been taken in the interest of farmers. At the same, there is no clarity on the impact of increase of prices of fertilisers in the international market. As per the government announcement, the final cost of a 50 kg bag of DAP is Rs 3,851 and the government is providing a subsidy of Rs 2,501 to make it available to farmers at Rs 1,350," Meena said, adding that the government should 'freeze' the MRP of DAP as fertiliser prices are set increase further due to ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
"The sowing of soybeans is set to start in the second week of May and the availability of fertilisers in the open market is 'null'. Rise in demand of fertilisers would increase the chances of black-marketing of the nutrient-based fertilisers. The government should increase the quota of fertilisers to be sold by co-operatives in different states to put a check on black-marketing of NPK fertiliser," said Meena, who is the founder of Kisan Swaraj Sangathan.
Expressing his displeasure over the non-availability of fertilizers, Ganesh Nanote, who is a cotton grower from Maharashtra's Vidarbha region, said, "The fields are being prepared for cotton sowing and if farmers wouldn't get fertilisers on time, the yield of the crop would be badly impacted."
Apart from increasing subsidies, the government should also ensure the availability of fertilisers at the time of sowing, Nanote added.
However, fertiliser secretary RK Chaturvedi has said that there is no shortage of fertilisers in the country. At a recently held press conference, Chaturvedi had claimed that there is an availability of 77.87 lakh tonne of NPK fertiliser against the requirement of 63.71 lakh tonne in the 2022 kharif season.
