Hyderabad: Farmers whose hopes were raised by the prediction of a good monsoon after two years of drought now face a fresh worry. There could be a fertilizer shortage in the coming kharif season after the Centre cut the fertilizer quota to the state by 1 lakh tonnes over last year.
Agriculture officials have alerted the government, urging it to take up the issue with the Centre before farmers start queuing up for days at shops. Police lathi-charge and commotion before fertilizer shops were a common phenomenon during the kharif season in undivided AP.
No such instance has been reported since the state was formed two years ago. This was mainly due to two consecutive years of drought, when there was little demand for fertilizers. Things could change if the farmers need to purchase fertilizers, on the back of a good monsoon.
Fertilizer (Infographic)
The Centre has allotted 17.3 lakh tonnes of fertilizers to the state for the ensuing kharif, including eight lakh tonnes of urea. This is against the 18.32 lakh tonnes last year, a reduction of 1.02 lakh tonnes.
Most importantly, the Centre has been reducing the supply of urea with every passing year. This is crucial for Telangana, because the use of urea is high here.
"If there are good rains in the coming kharif as is predicted, the quota of 8 lakh tonne urea would not be sufficient to meet the demand. It may lead to severe shortage and spell trouble to the farmer. The government will take up the issue with the Centre," said agriculture minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy. The Centre has rarely increased the urea quota in the midst of the kharif season.
