Farmers worried about kharif season as fertiliser companies hike prices

Kolhapur: Rising fertiliser prices have cast a shadow of uncertainty over the farming community, threatening the livelihoods of even the most celebrated farmers.Last year, Vishal Patil, a sugar cane farmer from Sangli's Amnapur village, was felicitated for highest production of cane — around 120 tonnes per acre.Vishwas Deshmane, a soyabean farmer from Barshi tehsil of Solapur district, too was awarded for highest yield — 12 quintals per acre. Both the farmers, however, fear that they will not achieve a bumper yield this year, citing shortage of fertilisers and their increased costs as the reasons.Due to increased cost of production affected by the increased prices of gas and raw material, the fertiliser companies have increased the price of their products. The companies have increased the price from Rs200 per kg to Rs350 per kg of NPK fertilisers.Naphtha, which is a byproduct of the petroleum industry, is in short supply. Therefore, production of urea is also short. Situation is the same with Diammonium Phosphate (DAP). However, the prices of the two have kept unchanged, thanks to increased subsidy by the central govt to the factories.The Centre has declared an allocation of Rs41,500 crore for urea, DAP and some other chemical fertilisers. The subsidy allocation is nearly Rs 4,000 crore more than last year."Last year, I bought chemical fertilisers worth around Rs 25,000 per hectare. This time, the tally will go over Rs35,000. Sugar cane requires application of fertilisers thrice at least at various stages of growth. I have decided to cut down on the use of chemical fertilisers this time owing to the prices and shortage. This will lead to a drop in production and ultimately my income," said Patil.Deshmane, while talking to TOI, said, "Soyabean crop requires high input of nitrogen-based fertilisers. I have approached an agriculture scientist to fetch me details of how much fertiliser I can apply to get average production."Besides the rise in prices, the farmers are also facing another challenge. "Companies selling fertilisers, especially subsidized ones, are forcing us to buy their other products. This should stop," Mahadev Lad, a sugar cane farmer from Kundal in Sangli district, said.The state agriculture department authorities have said there is no shortage of fertilisers in the state. "Every year for the kharif season, nearly 48.8 lakh tonnes of fertilisers are required. We appeal to the farmers to not panic as there is optimum availability," a senior official of the state agriculture department said.An expert in agricultural sciences said, "Using less fertilisers will hamper production. The fertiliser requirement depends on soil type and crop requirement. The deficiency is overcome by applying fertilisers. This time if El Nino gets stronger and monsoon is less, the farmers will then sow less and therefore the use of fertilisers will be less."