JOIN USWith a couple of weeks to go for the onset of monsoon, shortage of fertilisers, thanks to malpractices and various other reasons have affected farmers’ preparations for the agriculture season.
Earlier, fertilisers were stored at the raitha bazaar in TAPCMS and sold to farmers. But for the past three months the officials have failed to stock the fertiliser, forcing the farmers to depend on the private traders.
Price surge
The prices have also skyrocketed this year. The price of a 50-kg bag of fertiliser has shot up by 20 per cent. The price of Urea has risen to Rs 280 from Rs 250. The price of DAP has gone up to Rs 525 from Rs 480. Fertiliser 10.26.26 has surged to Rs 420 from Rs 360 earlier. The price of Ammonium Sulphate has also doubled. The price of various fertilisers also vary depending on the manufacturer.
The price of fertiliser carries the additional burden of 5 per cent Value Added Tax per bag of fertiliser.The Agriculture Department has prepared the new price list of fertilisers. However, fertiliser trades feel that it is difficult to determine the exact prices till the fertilisers stocks arrive. This dilly-dallying in fertiliser storage and price fixing has created apprehension among farmers about the availability of fertiliser in the taluk.
In the light of uncertainty, farmers are making efforts to get fertilisers from neighbouring V Kota and Kuppam in Andhra Pradesh and Hosuru and Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu, at exorbitant price.
For the past three months, the taluk has been facing shortage of fertilisers, mainly urea. A requirement of 3,000 tones of chemical fertilisers has been projected for the monsoon for the ensuing agriculture season which begins in the second week of June. But due to the skyrocketing prices, traders are also hesitant to stock fertiliser.