BHUBANESWAR: Even as the blame game between BJD and BJP over alleged short supply of fertilisers to Odisha continues, the current stock of the soil nutrients lends credence to allegation of ‘artificial scarcity’ in the State.
The opening stock of different kinds of fertilisers was 1.8 lakh tonne as on September 10, 2021. Stock of urea, fertilizer most required by farmers during August and September, stands at 77,530 tonne against a requirement of 81,180 tonne by the end of this month.
The total seasonal requirement of urea in the State was 4 lakh tonne while the actual requirement projected by the State to Centre from April 1 to September 10 was 3.4 lakh tonnes.
The Centre made a supply of over 3.99 lakh tonne till Friday out of which the State agencies have sold over 3.18 lakh tonne, reveals the dashboard of Department of Fertilisers under the Ministry.
In Ganjam, for example, neem coated urea is being sold at around Rs 500 per 45 kg bag against the subsidised price of Rs 266.50 per bag.
This is despite the district having a live stock of 6,410 tonne.
Farmers say with monsoon gaining strength due to back to back low pressure and large parts of the State experiencing good rainfall, demand for fertilisers has picked up.
This has allowed agencies and dealers selling fertilisers to rake in the moolah, said Ganesh Nayak, a farmer from Ganjam.
Urea apart, the State government had placed order for 2 lakh tonne of Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) for the curret kharif.
Against the requirement of 1.9 lakh tonne till September 10, it received 1.79 lakh tonne and sold 1.56 lakh tonne to the farmers. As on date, the stock is 24,600 tonne.
In case of complex fertiliser (NPKS) and Muriate of Potash (MOP), the State had projected its total requirement for the season at 2 lakh tonne and 1 lakh tonne respectively.
The Centre supplied more than the requirement of the two soil nutrients during April 1, to September 10.
The NPKS supply during this period was 2.19 lakh tonne against agreed supply plan of 1.88 lakh tonne.
With the sale of 1.74 lakh tonne, the state has an adequate stock of 45,590 tonne.
As per the agreed plan between the State and Centre, the MOP requirement till date is 90,000 tonne but the State has already received 99,390 tonne. After sale of 77,810 tonne, the available stock is 21,520 tonnes.
Agriculture Minister Arun Sahoo, however, begged to differ.
The Centre has been slashing the Odisha quota of fertilisers year and after year on the plea that the State’s consumption is not up to mark in comparison to other states, he said.
Between adequate supply and artificial scarcity, farmers pay
“We are not getting supply as per the agreed plan for each kharif month. The accumulated short fall of each month has accentuated the problem,” he pointed out. BJP Krushak Morcha president Pradeep Purohit dismissed the allegations of the Minister.
The State is getting more than its monthly requirement. The current scarcity is governmentmade as it has closed eye to unscrupulous practice by agencies registered for sale of fertilizers, he said. Recently, farmers at Jharigaon in Nabarangpur ransacked a Large Area Multipurpose Societies (LAMPS) due to non-availability of fertiliers.