Hyderabad: With the Centre doubling up the fertiliser subsidy for this Rabi season because of steep rise in the fertiliser prices following the crisis in the international market and the marked improvement in the supply chain of fertiliser in the country, there are certain states that are still reeling under crisis.
Let us take the case of Rajasthan where the demand for 9 lakhs metric tonnes of urea was approved for the state in October and November 2022, but the supply remained at 4.65 lakh metric tonnes leading to a steep crisis in demand and supply chain. It received 2.15 lakh metric tonnes of DAP against the earmarked demand of 3.20 lakh metric tonnes of DAP.
Rajasthan is not alone. Major agricultural states like Bihar and Himachal Pradesh have also been facing the heat because of this demand and supply gap in fertiliser. Figures available with Etv Bharat shows that HIMFED (Himachal Pradesh State Co-operative Marketing & Consumers Federation Ltd.) had raised a demand of 8 thousand metric tonnes of fertilisers but only 8 thousand tonnes have been received putting the lives of 12 lakh farmers in the state in jeopardy.
“The non-availability of fertilisers at the time of sowing in the Rabi season will directly affect the production of crops like wheat, peas, potatoes as well as apples,” Kuldeep Singh Tanwar, state president of Himachal Kisan Sabha said. Though Himfed President Ganesh Dutt assured that the shortfall will be negotiated soon, it is difficult for the state farmers to cope up with the situation.
The same situation is evident in states like Bihar and Delhi. Farmers of Delhi start sowing mustard at the beginning of October every year. Mustard is always sowed till October 15 and wheat is sown in November. The farmers of Delhi are facing problems due to shortage of fertiliser in the neighboring states.
“Delhi needs 10 thousand metric tonnes of fertiliser, but the farmers of Delhi have to buy this fertiliser from Sonepat. Along with urea fertiliser, the demand for DAP fertiliser is also very high in the month of November. At least 2500 metric tons of fertiliser are required by the farmers of Delhi, which is not available,” Raj Dabas, a farmer of Kanzhawala village, says.
It is not so rosy in Bihar as it has locked horns with the Centre on the short supply of manure. While the Union Government maintains that the supply of fertiliser to the State was adequate, the State statistics narrate a different story and points to a 37 percent supply against the total fertiliser requirement. The face-off continues in Bihar.
Amid compounding hardships faced by the farmers, the central government sticks to its line that there is enough fertiliser in Bihar. Responding to the claim, the State government says that only 37 percent of urea fertiliser has been supplied so far by the Union Government. The stock of other fertilisers remains minimal, according to the State.
The data offered by the Centre suggests the Bihar still has 1.68 lakh metric tonnes of urea stored in its fertiliser depots as it was unable to distribute it. Bihar Agriculture Minister Sarvjit differs. "We need 2,55,000 metric tonnes of urea during this season, the disbursal from the Centre has reached only 37 percent of it," the Minister said.
Despite the ongoing crisis in some states there are many states like Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana and Uttarakhand where the demand supply gap is not so evident and that was only possible because of the Centre’s decision to double up the fertiliser subsidy for this Rabi season.
The Union Cabinet on July approved a subsidy of Rs 51,875 crore to Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potash (K) and Sulphur (S) for Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) fertilisers for the ongoing Rabi season. The total fertiliser subsidy for the Rabi season was Rs 80,000 crore for urea, Rs 1,38,875 crore and for both the Rabi and Kharif, the subsidy amount was Rs 2.25 lakh crore. According to the central government this was the highest subsidy so far. Last year it was Rs 1.65 lakh crores.
