PATNA: Farmers in Bihar have complained about shortage of urea in the state, saying they are forced to buy the fertiliser at a premium for each bag. They said urea was available for тВ╣290-325 for a 45-kg bag as against the maximum retail price (MRP) at тВ╣266.50 but the government insists that there was no shortage.
тАЬWe are being made to pay extra owing to short-supply of urea in the district,тАЭ said Vijay Kumar Mishra, a farmer of Dhawan village in Bikramganj, claiming that the non-urea-based di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), which is not required now, was available in abundance. He said there was adequate supply of nano urea but farmers preferred the conventional urea.
An agriculture department official said there was a problem in supply of urea and the department has engaged kisan mitras to monitor distribution its distribution.
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тАЬMore than the supply, itтАЩs about availability of fertilisers at the time of their requirement. DAP is required at the time of sowing wheat and other rabi crops. UreaтАЩs crisis has hit the rural market when it is needed at the time of irrigation of wheat,тАЭ said the officer.
Bihar agriculture minister Kumar Sarvajit said Bihar received supply of around 1.91 lakh metric tonne of urea against the demand of 3.30 lakh metric tonne in December. тАЬUrea was about 30% and 36% short in supply in the months of November and October respectively,тАЭ said the minister, adding that the crisis has worsened due to delay in supply of imported area.
The Union chemicals and fertilizers ministry allots quota of urea and DAP to different states on subsidy. тАЬWhile IFFCOтАЩs urea is available to the farmers on MRP, dealers of other fertiliser companies generally force the farmers to buy other products to get urea on the MRP,тАЭ said Rakesh Singh, another farmer from Motihari.
Bihar BJP chief and Bettiah MP Sanjay Jaiswal said that there no real shortage of fertilisers in Bihar.
тАЬFarmers are suffering owing to black-marketing of fertilisers. Agriculture departmentтАЩs officers and fertiliser distributors are hand in gloves to create artificial crisis of urea,тАЭ claimed Jaiswal.
