(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
A farmer walks out of a ‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samriddhi Kendra’ (PMKSK) empty handed in Bunna village of Kaithal in Haryana on November 1, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
At the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samriddhi Kendra (PMKSK) in Bunna village of Kaithal district in Haryana, farmers keep coming on bicycles and motorcycles to enquire if diammonium phosphate (DAP), a chief fertiliser used while sowing wheat, is available, but like the godown of the PMKSK, they return home — empty.
“We don’t have a single sack of DAP left, but everyone wants DAP,” said a worker at the centre.
Also read | What challenges does India face in fertilizer imports?
Farmers told The Hindu that they were struggling to procure DAP and private shops were selling it either at a premium or forcing them to buy fertilisers or pesticides that they do not need along with it. Farmers in Punnawal village of Punjab also echoed similar views.
Farmers unions have been protesting over the shortage of DAP and tardy procurement of paddy in both the States. Farmers are also worried that both the factors will delay sowing of wheat, which will negatively impact the produce.
At the office of Harbans Singh, Chief Agricultural Officer (CAO) in Sangrur of Punjab, at least two groups of farmers came to meet him for DAP in a 45-minute window on a November morning.
“Even a senior officer just called me to ask whether DAP is available. Everyone wants DAP,” Mr. Singh said about the shortage, as he got another enquiry for DAP over his smartphone.
At the PMKSK in Bunna village, Raghuveer Singh (50) said he has been trying to get DAP for the past two weeks. “I have to sow in the next four to five days. If I don’t get it through government, then I will have to buy it from private shops,” Raghuveer Singh said next to his bicycle.
He said that if he is unable to get DAP, then he will have to buy NPK, an alternative, but DAP gives better results. “Every other year there is a shortage of DAP. The government should increase the production,” he said.
Ramesh Kumar (57) came on a bike to the outlet, only to return empty-handed. “I have got eight bags of DAP and I need 14 more. If I do not get it from the government, then I will have to buy it at ₹2,000 from private shops instead of ₹1,350 at the government,” he said.
Sukhvinder Singh (37) at Punnawal village in Sangrur said that he was also unable to get DAP for sowing wheat. “Private shops are selling nano DAP and nano urea at ₹600 per litre and ₹250 litre along with one bag of DAP and I need six bags. Even the cooperative societies are selling them,” he said.
Harbans Singh said the Union government is selling nano DAP and nano urea to farmers along with the DAP. “The department (Punjab government) is telling farmers that if you do not need them, then do not buy them. The Punjab Agricultural University has not recommended it,” he added.
Meanwhile, Inderjit Singh, national vice president of left-affiliated All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) said the shortage is a big issue in both the States. “Farmers are standing in queues for hours from as early as 4 a.m. at some places and going back home empty-handed. At many places in Haryana, DAP is being sold through the police due to the high demand.”
He also claimed that the shortage is a planned and deliberate move by the government to increase prices. “Ultimately, the government wants to open up the fertiliser industry completely to the private sector,” he claimed.
Published – November 11, 2024 10:50 pm IST
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});