Farmers complain of urea shortage; officials advise against panic buying, overuse

Amid protests over the “rationing” of urea and panic buying, contradicting versions about the fertilizer’s availability are emerging in the State, particularly from north and central Karnataka.

While copious rainfall had brought smiles on the faces of farmers, reported non-availability of urea seems to have left them worried, resulting in panic buying in some districts. Agriculture Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy has appealed to farmers against stocking up in excess or overusing.

Reports of altercations between officials and farmers and protests by farmers demanding additional supplies have come from districts such as Kalaburagi, Raichur, Haveri, Gadag, Koppal, and Davangere. However, officials have a contradicting version, and they say they have already received more than the required qunatity till July-end.

What farmers say

However, farmers in Kalaburagi and Raichur districts continue to complain of a shortage. “Many farmers who came to urban centres to buy fertilizers had to return empty-handed,” said Sharanabasappa Mamshetti, district president of the Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha. Farmer Sunil Guttedar of Nagur village in Kamalapur taluk of Kalaburagi echoed the same concern, mentioning his futile visits to Raita Samparka Kendra, private vendors at Kamalapur, Mahagaon Cross, and even the APMC yard in Kalaburagi.

Chamarasa Malipatil, State honorary president of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, said the shortage extended beyond urea. “We are not getting DAP or complex fertilizers either. Vendors are coercing farmers to purchase substandard alternatives. On insisting on urea, they are being forced to pay up to ₹200 extra per bag,” he alleged.

However, Samad Patel, Joint Director of Agriculture, Kalaburagi, negated any such shortage. “As against the demand of 20,735 tonnes of urea till July-end in Kalaburagi, we have received 19,448 tonnes. Another 600 tonnes is expected by Saturday. Following media reports about shortage, dedicated teams have been deployed to monitor distribution,” he said.

Joint Director of Agriculture in Dharwad Manjunath Antaravalli made a similar statement. “Till July-end, our requirement was 15,200 tonnes of urea, and we have already received 23,000 tonnes. We have the required stock and are expecting another 1,000 tonnes by Monday,” he said.

Why more demand

According to him, the additional demand is due to copious rains and also because of “unwarranted” additional application of urea.

“Excess usage of urea is bad. Two or three applications are being made unnecessarily by farmers. Where they required one bag, they are using two or three bags. We are trying to educate and convince farmers on the adverse impact of using excess urea,” he told The Hindu.