Fertiliser Shortage Dispute Escalates in Odisha

Overview

• Odisha Congress warned of a statewide agitation on Tuesday and urged urgent action after party leaders said farmers are facing acute shortages of urea, DAP and other fertilisers at the start of the kharif season.
• BJD leaders released figures showing a seasonal requirement of about 11.43 lakh tonnes but saying that, as of July 17, only around 1.81 lakh tonnes had reached Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies and about 1.14 lakh tonnes had been distributed to farmers.
• Farmers in districts such as Bargarh and Sundargarh reported overnight queues and alleged black marketing that forces them to pay about Rs 500-600 for a 45 kg bag of urea that the government sets at Rs 266.50.
• Odisha’s Cooperation minister Pradeep Bal Samant rejected the shortage and black marketing claims and officials have asked MARKFED to lift and distribute a larger share of supplies while the agriculture department has advised promoting alternative complex fertilisers.
• The dispute links immediate delivery failures to longer term problems such as rising per-acre fertiliser costs and the non-operational Talcher plant, raising the risk of lower kharif yields on roughly 39 lakh hectares and further political mobilisation.