BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday urged the Centre to ensure the supply of fertiliser to the State as per its monthly requirement. He also urged the Union government to clear the backlog of the previous months for smooth distribution among the farmers for the ensuing Kharif season.
In a letter to Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Mansukh Mandaviya, the Chief Minister said the department of Fertilisers had ensured supply of urea as per requirement till July-end. However, there has been a severe shortfall in the supply of diammonium phosphate (DAP) and muriate of potash (MOP).
During the current Kharif season, by July 31, the overall availability of DAP has been 69 per cent against the pro-rata requirement with a shortfall of 46,877 tonnes. Similarly, the supply of MOP to the State has also fallen short by 1,010 tonnes.
While 94,000 tonnes of DAP has been supplied against the requirement of 1,55,000 tonnes, 48,469 tonnes of MOP was supplied against the quota of 60,000 tonnes to the State till the end of July. The Chief Minister further said the demand for fertiliser in the State is huge as there has been a good spell of monsoon after a dry spell which has triggered agricultural operations.
Stating that Odisha suffered a loss in crop production during the previous year due to natural calamities like cyclones Yaas, Jawad and Gulab, he said the State hoped to make good the loss with a good harvest with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting a near normal monsoon.
He said supply of the most critical input for the farming sector should be as per requirement. Besides, August-September happens to be the peak demand period for different fertilisers and a short supply during the juncture would adversely affect agricultural production in the State.