THANJAVUR: Farmers who have cultivated Samba and Thalady crops in the district have been affected by the unavailability of fertilisers and high prices of urea and potash.
Sources said around 1.3 lakh hectares have been brought under Samba and Thalady in Thanjavur this year. Due to heavy rains, crops in several areas were inundated.
Though water has mostly receded, crops could not be salvaged at several places.
A K R Ravichander, a farmer from Ammayagaram, said, “The Samba nurseries I transplanted on 10 acres were completely damaged. When I replanted nurseries, the second spell of rain ruined them. Now I have bought nurseries and planted them using manual labourers. It is difficult to purchase urea, potash and DAP, which I need now. The crops which were submerged in rainwater need zinc sulphate, which is not available. The crops salvaged have started turning yellow.”
S Sivakumar, a farmer from Manathidal, said, “We need to apply fertiliser after de-weeding. Urea is not available at government depots and traders are selling it at higher than the MRP. The price of potash has also been hiked from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,700.”
When contacted, officials of the Agriculture Department told TNIE that a train rake with 1,300 tonnes of SPIC urea is expected to arrive at Thanjavur on December 17. Of this, 1,000 tonnes has been allotted for Thanjavur. Urea has also arrived at Karaikkal port. After making allotment for Cuddalore and Tiruchy, it would be allotted to Thanjavur. “This month, the allocation for Thanjavur is 3,800 tonnes, of which 1,500 tonnes have arrived,” an official said.
“On December 7, the district received 480 tonnes of potash, of which 400 tonnes were given to cooperative societies and 80 tonnes to private traders. But, the stock was sold within a few days. There have been problems with zinc sulphate supply too. Due to the rains, fertilisers, which are mostly imported, are to be distributed to all districts and hence the problem,” officials said.
Potash is in demand in Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai districts too. Once the supply arrives, it would be sold for `1,700 instead of the current price of Rs 1,040. Fertilisers like potash are sold at cooperative societies and private retailers, sources said.
S Pannneerselvam, Joint Director of the Agriculture Department, said, “The reason for price hike is the increase in the price of raw materials. We will receive 400 metric tonne each for Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai districts in a day.”
With inputs from Antony Fernando @ Nagapattinam