Shortage of fertiliser is affecting the farmers of Jajpur district in the on-going Kharif cultivation season. The crisis is aggravating day-by-day. large numbers of farmers were in great difficulties due to the non-availability of the fertilisers leading to inordinate delay in sowing of the seasonal crops.
Rajat Das, a noted farmer leader, expressed grave concern over the shortage of the urea and DAP fertilisers in the district. The farmer leader alleged that the fertilizer dealers were selling the urea and DAP fertilizers at inflated rates in black market against the fixed official rates.
He said that the district administration was unable to check the black-marketing, creating artificial shortage of the urea and DAP in the locality. In Binjharpur, Korei, Bari, Dasarathpur and Barachana blocks, the peasants have already taken to streets by holding road blockades and strikes.
Sources said DAP, priced at Rs 2,360 per quintal, sells in the black market at Rs 3,000, putting the poor and marginal peasants in trouble. The urea’s fair price is Rs 570 per quintal but it is being sold at Rs 700 to 800 by the black-marketers.
When contacted, deputy director of agriculture (DDA) R Das said, “Farmers of Jajpur district planned to raise paddy on 1, 62,000 hectares of agricultural land for which they needed 2, 40,000 tonnes of fertilizers this Kharif season. Till date, we got about 3,000 tonnes of fertilizer, whereas last year the department had provided 9,000 tonnes.” He informed that the department had decided to supply 12,000 tonnes of fertilizers to the farmers.