Ensure ‘adequate supply’ of fertilisers, state writes to Centre

Kolkata: Concerned over the less supply of fertiliser from the Centre, Bengal Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi wrote to the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers for adequate supply to ensure the farmers associated with potato cultivation are not faced with difficulty.

The state had sent requisition for 5 lakh metric tonnes of NPK fertilisers which is the main component for potato cultivation in the state but only 26107 metric tonnes were received. The letter to Rajat Kumar Mishra, secretary of Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertiliser states that in the regional conference held in August, the Centre agreed it will be allocating the requisite amount for the state. However, supply for November–December is less with 54000 metric tonnes in the state’s stock at present. Dwivedi urged the Centre to send the rest of the amount urgently.

A senior official of the Agriculture department expressed apprehension over black-marketing of fertiliser amid less supply. State Agriculture minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay will hold a meeting at Nabanna on November 9 with concerned officials of his department to curb any irregularities associated with availability of fertiliser for the farmers. Directions have already been given for strict vigil to ensure fertilisers are sold only through e-pos machines.

In a meeting on October 19, the minister had warned the dealers that farmers should not have to pay beyond the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for purchase of fertilisers. In the last Kharif season, there were complaints against a section of fertiliser traders selling the chemical to farmers at an inflated price beyond the MSP. The traders were directed not to force the farmers to buy fertilisers of their choice. Instructions were issued for appointing more dealers at the sub division level to ensure smooth supply.