BENGALURU: At a time when farmers should have been equipped with adequate stocks of fertilisers, many parts of the state are reporting a severe shortage of the crucial input. The shortage is mainly of Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP), which is the much-preferred fertiliser across the country as it contains nitrogen and phosphorus that are the primary nutrients for crops.
Farmers and officials have reported insufficient stocks of DAP at cooperative societies and dealers. But Agriculture Minister BC Patil on Wednesday said there is no shortage of fertilisers in the state. “There may be a delay of one or two days in getting (the supplies) due to transportation issues. If anyone is creating artificial scarcity, action will be taken against them,” he warned.
Countering the minister, Kodihalli Chandrashekar, state president, Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha, said he is getting calls from desperate farmers from many places over fertiliser shortage. “The government may have the stocks, but the farmers are not getting what they want. I will take it up with the government,” he added.
Kodagu district requires around 4,500 to 5,000 tonnes of DAP, potash and urea. But there has been an acute shortage for the last two months, as only around 200 tonnes have been supplied so far, said Srinivas SG, a major fertiliser dealer and distributor in the district. To address the shortage, they have supplied farmers with other fertilisers, he added.
In some parts of Srirangapatna in Mandya district, farmers are not getting adequate quantities of DAP and urea for paddy and sugarcane crops. “There has been a shortage over the last few weeks,” said Somashekara RA, a farmer from Rampura near Srirangapatna.
Farmers in Belagavi facing fertiliser crunch for 6 months
In some parts of Srirangapatna in Mandya district, farmers are not getting adequate quantities of DAP and urea for paddy and sugarcane crops. “There has been a shortage over the last few weeks,” said Somashekara RA, a farmer from Rampuranear Srirangapatna.
In Bagalkot district of North Karnataka, farmers use DAP and urea for tur dal, chickpea, wheat, jowar and sugarcane crops. Officials too admitted that there is a shortage. Chetana Patil, Joint Director of the Department of Agriculture in Bagalkot, told The New Indian Express, “At present, we are running short of DAP, but we have enough stock of urea.
We have not been able to get stocks as dealers are failing to place orders at the point of sale due to technical issues. Fresh stocks are likely to arrive in a week or two.” The fertilisers will be used mainly during the Rabi season, which is about to begin. The department will ensure that the district will have enough stocks this season, she added. Vijayapura district is still waiting for fresh stocks of DAP, demand for which will rise from the first week of October when tur dal is sown largely in the district, said Aravind Kulkarni, General Secretary of Karnataka State Farmers’ Association.
In Belagavi district, farmers have been facing a shortage of fertilisers for the last six months, with supplies even from private companies reducing. Siddagouda Modagi, a farmer, said that at the point of sales in many areas, authorities do not give proper information about the available stocks, and farmers struggle to get required amounts of fertilisers. They are trying to get fertilisers from alternative sources, but by paying higher prices, he said. Sharanabasappa Mamashetty, president, Kalabuargi district unit of Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha, said farmers in several taluks are facing a shortage of DAP.
“The Rabi season will start in a few days and farmers will cultivate Bengal gram, jowar, sunflower and groundnut,” he added. But Joint Director, Agriculture Department, Ratendranath Sugur, said there is sufficient DAP and urea stocks in the district now. He, however, admitted that there was a shortage in June-July during the Kharif season. Udupi, too, faced a shortage a few weeks ago, but the issue has been addressed now. In Hassan, except for a slight shortage of potash, there is no major issue and the department has streamlined the system. The agriculture department has distributed 1.54 lakh tonnes of fertilisers against an average demand of 1.41 lakh tonnes.
(With inputs from Prakash Samaga@Udupi, Mahesh M Goudar@Bagalkot, Prajna GR@Madikeri, Marx Tejaswi@Shivamogga Ramkrishna Badseshi@ Kalabuargi, V Velayudham@ Kolar, Divya Cutinho@ Mangaluru, Uday Kumar BR @Hassan, Arunkumar Huralimath@Hubballi, Naushad Bijapur@Belagavi)