Shift in crop pattern, re-sowing result in urea scarcity
BENGALURU: What has caused the shortage of urea? While the blame-game goes on between the State and Central governments over shortage of fertilisers, there are a host of factors at play. To begin with, there is excessive use of fertilisers due to sudden shift in crop pattern, and re-sowing necessitated by heavy rains. Then there is the increase in horticulture crop, in turn spiking the demand for urea and other fertilisers. Experts say there is a need to spread awareness about excessive use of fertilisers. Karnataka needs 4lakh tonnes of DAP for the ongoing kharif season, and over 2lakh tonnes for rabi. The Centre supplies DAP to states based on their average use for the last three years. The DAP quantity to be supplied for the kharif season is allocated in January, and for rabi in July.
By March 2025, there was 3.6 lakh MT of urea in stock in Karnataka. The State government had requested for 6.4 lakh MT of urea, of which the Centre had allotted 5.1 lakh. With earlier stock and this, there was 8.7 lakh MT of urea available in the state. The Centre is yet to supply 1.3 lakh MT.
According to sources in the agriculture department, technically, both the State and Central governments are correct in terms of demand and supply. The shortage of urea has various reasons -- to begin with, there was more demand for urea. As cotton prices dropped, farmers shifted to maize. While cotton growing comes with many disadvantages, including labour cost, pesticides and the 145-day crop, maize comes with lesser cost and can be grown in 120 days.
With farmers from the maize belt, including Haveri, Davanagere, Koppal, Vijayanagar, Chitradurga, Dharwad and Shivamogga shifting to maize, sowing of maize increased by an additional 2 lakh hectares.
Crops like green gram, black gram, chickpea and other pulses have the nature of fixing nitrogen in the atmosphere and this requires less urea, whereas cotton, maize, sunflower, sugarcane requires more. People should also understand that more usage of urea is not good for the health of soil or humans. When urea is used, it leaches out and not just goes to the crop, it also joins streams and other water bodies, causing humans to consume nitrate.
Apart from this, due to heavy rains, a lot of sowing was washed out and farmers had to re-sow 13,000 hectares of land, with urea being used again after fresh sowing.
According to a farming expert, for every 100kg of urea used, 20kg evaporates due to high temperature, another 40kg of urea seeps into water due to heavy rains. Only 40kg of urea remains. This is during a normal rainfall season. But this year, with more rain in many places, urea leached out in water, and as leaves turn green to yellow, farmers start doubling the use of urea. This helps to some extent but is not the solution.
One sector that goes under the radar is horticulture, though cultivation area is increasing. It was 21lakh hectares during 2019-20, and this year has gone up to 27lakh hectares. Farmers are going for cash crops and there is a huge demand for not just urea, but also all fertilisers.
Excessive use of urea is not advisable. This impacts soil health. The soil organic carbon content (carbon found within the organic matter of soil derived from decomposed plant and animal residues) which was 0.5 per cent some 15 years back, is now reduced to 0.32 per cent. Experts, therefore, suggest the use of organic manure once in a while that will help increase soil health.
- Ashwini M Sripad
Hope of bumper crop fading fast
MYSURU: Guru, a farmer, is seen running from one fertiliser shop to another in Hullahalli, Nanjangud, Mysuru, and other places. He spends more time in search of urea than he works in the fields. Reason: He knocks on the shops around 20-25km from Daripura in Mysuru taluk, with a request for diammonium phosphate — DAP 10-26-26 and 20-20-20 -- as local shops have no stock for more than three weeks. He has to approach shops in neighbouring towns for fertilisers since he badly needs them for his ginger, banana, tomato and beans grown in 20 acres of land. He fears that failure to add fertilisers on time would impact the yield and shatter his hopes for a bumper crop.
“I tried my best, and even offered Rs 100 more per bag as I can’t let my labourers sit idle waiting for fertilisers. Shopkeepers with ‘no stock’ boards suggest the use of organic manure. I’m not for the fertilisers of their choice. My experience suggests that I need DAP and similar component fertilisers that are not available now,” he says.
On the other hand, Guru is upset as the increase in prices of fertilisers has made a big hole in his pocket. “I used to spend Rs 4 lakh on fertilisers four years ago. Now prices of agriculture inputs have doubled. I need at least four bags per acre and cannot get even one for a month now.
“I used to spend Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 to grow tomatoes on an acre but it has crossed Rs 1.3 lakh as prices of mulching sheets, bamboo logs, pesticides and fertilisers have shot up, doubling the cost of cultivation. How can farmers survive as wages have shot up from Rs 250 to Rs 400 for women from neighbouring villages, and Rs 600 for men who work for five to six hours,” he asks. Labourers don’t turn up if they are not provided to-and-fro autorickshaw fare and lunch on time. However, he says the cost of cultivation can be reduced by 30 per cent if family members work in the fields and have their own land with better water resource. This is not the case if cultivation is taken up in leased land with hired labourers, he adds.
Guru has pledged the land to a moneylender to invest in standing crops and for agricultural inputs to get bumper crops. “I have stocked ginger grown during the previous year. I did not want to sell it for a throwaway price. I am confident that prices will shoot up in a couple of months,” he says.
- K Shiva Kumar
Coffee grower braces for a bitter brew
MADIKERI: Kodagu is no exception to the fertiliser crisis in the state. To curb hoarding of urea and illegal sales, the agriculture department and police are conducting inspections at fertiliser shops.
With the district receiving heavy rainfall, the Coffee Board has urged growers to apply urea to stop the dropping of coffee beans. Shortage of urea is, however, affecting maintenance works across estates even as growers said they were spending extra money to protect the coffee yield.
Harish Madappa, a grower in South Kodagu, owns a coffee estate. He also grows paddy. He says the coffee estate has to be sprinkled with urea during the pre-monsoon period and the same was carried out without interruption as urea was available then.
“From various VSSN facilities to private fertiliser shops, not even a kg of urea is available anywhere now. While we have been advised to use urea to prevent the dropping of coffee beans, there is no urea anywhere.” The Coffee Board has also suggested using ammonium sulphate as an alternative to urea. However, Harish says, “While a bag of urea costs Rs 227, a bag of ammonium sulphate costs Rs 990. Further, the coffee plants require increased nitrogen supply which is abundant in urea. While urea has 46% nitrogen, ammonium sulphate has only 20% nitrogen. So, instead of one bag of urea that costs about Rs 227, we have to use two bags of ammonium sulphate that costs Rs 1980, increasing maintenance cost eight times.”
He explains that each plant requires a certain calculated amount of urea depending on the size and yield the crop provides. “While alternatives to urea are available, they are not feasible to small growers. Further, even nano spraying of fertilisers can be done, but this too is not cost-effective and requires large amount of labour,” he says.
- Prajna GR
‘Now is the time, we can’t wait any longer’
VIJAYAPURA: Goudappa Babaleshwar is worried that his crop would not yield enough this year if he fails to get fertilisers such as urea and Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) within the next fortnight. Having 5 acres of land in Hittinahalli village of Vijayapura taluk, Babaleshwar said farmers are not getting sufficient quantities of fertiliser. “Last year, we got fertilisers easily from Raita Samparka Kendra (RSK) in our village itself, but this year we are struggling to get it even at higher prices in the open market. Only a few have been able to collect fertilisers,” he said.
Babaleshwar used to grow jowar, Bengal gram and onion, but a decade ago began to cultivate tur dal extensively as it fetches a good price. “Tur essentially needs urea and DAP for higher yield, and without it, the yield reduces significantly. Without urea and DAP, we get four to five bags of tur -- each bag weighs 60-70kg -- while with urea and DAP, we get close to 10 bags,” he said. Babaleshwar said he spent around Rs 4,000 last year on urea and DAP, but this year, farmers are spending at least Rs 2,000 more for the same 5-acre land.
“The increasing price of fertiliser is like rubbing salt into wounds. Farmers are already in distress due to falling prices and loss due to vagaries of nature, the unavailability of fertilisers will only add to our woes,” he says. Babaleshwar says farmers should get fertilisers within a month as this is the right time. “After that, even if we get fertilisers in tonnes, it will be of no use for the crop.”
- Firoz Rozindar
Grim prognosis of crop loss
KALABURAGI: Though his field did receive sufficient rains to get a good yield during the kharif season, Sunil Guttedar, a small farmer with 15 acres of land at Nagur in Kalaburagi district, is worried of possible crop loss as till date he could not administer urea to his crops.
Sunil has cultivated sugarcane on 10 acres of land, and tur in the remaining land. Growth is good but for further growth, Sunil needs at least 50 bags of urea and 50 bags of DAP. “With great difficulty, I managed to get 50 bags of diammonium phosphate (DAP). I need 50 bags of urea immediately to spray on standing crop. If I don’t, it will affect the growth and yield of the crops,” says Sunil.
“Usually fertiliser would be sprayed on the crops in July. I visited the nearby Raitha Samparka Kendra several times, but each time the person in charge trots out some excuse or other and till date I have not got urea,” he adds.
Sunil has borrowed Rs 2 lakh for cultivation this year, and is the sole breadwinner for his five-member family. “If I suffer crop loss, my family would be hit hard,” he says, worry darkening his face.
- Ramakrishna Badseshi
Shortage casts long shadow
SHIVAMOGGA: Jagadeesh Naik, a farmer from Malavagoppa village, is facing a crisis just when the monsoon has revived hopes of a good crop. Despite owning eight acres of land where he grows arecanut, paddy and vegetables, Naik says rising prices and shortage of fertilisers have cast a shadow on the season. “Rain has come on time this year, but we are struggling to get fertilisers like urea, potash and suphala. Even when available, the prices are beyond our reach,” he says.
Naik points out that a 50-kg bag of urea, which cost Rs 250 earlier, now sells for Rs 330-350, with some desperate farmers paying up to Rs 400. Potash has gone up from Rs 1,400-1,500 per bag to over Rs 1,700, while suphala now costs Rs 1,650, up from Rs 1,450. This has burdened him more with an increase in cost of production per acre from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000. He says many farmers apply larger quantities of fertiliser during the harvesting phase, and the current shortage during this critical window has rattled them.
“Production cost has gone up sharply, but we’re unsure if market prices for our crops will rise accordingly. This is especially hard for small farmers,” he says. Alleging that an artificial shortage is being created, he urged the state government to ensure timely and fair supply. “We should not be forced into black market purchases just to save our crops,” he said. Naik now fears that without timely fertiliser access, his yield, and income, may drop drastically, despite a favourable monsoon.
- Arpitha I
Crisis upends rural social rhythm
GADAG: The scarcity of fertiliser has begun to upset rural social rhythm. In Timmapur, many farmer families had to skip Nagar Panchami festival for the first time in their lives as they were stranded in queues in expectation of grabbing a bag of urea.
Yallappa Babari was standing in one such queue during the festival. His wife, Nirmala, spent time watching the fields. The Babari family grows maize, wheat and green gram in their eight-acre field. Now is the time to apply urea to get a good quality crop. Yallappa could so far get only two bags of urea. Yallappa says: “Rich farmers can buy urea in black market but we cannot afford to do so. Last year, we earned 1.5 lakh and this time we may lose all crops or get very less profit due to the urea crunch.”
- Raghu Koppar
Can nano urea be the alternative?
BELAGAVI: Basavaraj Muddannavar is at his wit’s end. The farmer from Kadoli can’t get his bag of urea.
Out of his total 9-acre holding, Muddannavar has planted paddy in three acres, while the remaining land is under sweet potato, potato and maize cultivation. Now, where are the nutrients to come from?
Local fertiliser dealers are urging farmers to switch to nano urea, a liquid alternative that must be sprayed onto crops using pump equipment. Additionally, ammonium sulphate is being sold as another substitute, though it comes at a higher cost of Rs 950 per bag. “We are unsure how effective nano urea really is, and spraying requires extra equipment and effort,” says Muddannavar. Farmers are appealing to the state government for immediate intervention and restocking of urea, warning that continued delay could severely affect crop yield at this critical growth stage.
- Tushar A Majukar