Farmers Struggle With Short Supply of Urea for Kharif Season

Tirupati: Farmers across Chittoor district are facing a serious shortage of urea during the Kharif season, triggering unrest and long queues at Rythu Seva Kendras (RSKs).

While agriculture officials claimed that there was no scarcity of fertilizers, ground-level reports indicate a growing crisis driven by hoarding, panic buying and unregulated sales.

In several mandals, farmers are lining up from early morning hours at RSKs and primary agriculture cooperative societies, hoping to secure limited stocks of urea. Many return disappointed, as supplies are restricted to just 10 bags per day at some centres.

Sensing the shortage, private agri-input shops are reportedly selling urea at inflated prices or bundling it with other products. “We are being asked to buy other fertilizers that we don’t need, as a pre-condition to get just one or two bags of urea. This is exploitation,” said Narayana Reddy, a farmer from Palamaner.

Adding to the crisis, some retailers have been found stockpiling urea, along with other fertilizers and pesticides, contributing to an artificial scarcity. Against this backdrop, vigilance teams have intensified inspections across the district. Over the past five days, they seized 38.46 metric tonnes of fertilisers and 331.15 litres of pesticides worth Rs 12.14 lakh, citing lack of valid documentation.

Agriculture officials, however, attribute part of the problem to excess use by farmers, both for crops and as fodder. “Farmers are applying urea far beyond the recommended levels out of fear of a future scarcity. In some cases, it is being used even for fodder. This disrupts the supply chain and creates artificial demand,” an official stated.

District agriculture officers clarified that the district currently held 3,775 metric tonnes of urea, 19,000 metric tonnes of DAP and 740 metric tonnes of super phosphate. “There is no shortage. Supplies are being regulated and issued based on recommendations from village agriculture officers,” an official claimed.

However, farmers say official data does not reflect field realities. The requirement being over 2 lakh bags of urea this season, many say paddy cultivation could suffer unless distribution improved quickly. “We are in a crucial stage. If urea doesn’t reach us in time, yields will be severely hit,” said another farmer from Palamaner.