Farmers in Andhra Pradesh, whose kharif hopes were dashed early in the season, are now facing the shortage of fertilisers when it rained in the last fortnight of August. The State, which remained rainfall deficit in June and July, turned positive in August, recording 5 per cent more than the average.

With things turning positive, farmers have begun making beelines in front of the fertiliser stockists in almost all the rain-fed regions of Telangana and Rayalseema.

The State requires 38 lakh tonnes of fertilisers, including 14 lakh tonnes of urea, 13 lakh tonnes of complex, five lakh tonnes of DAP, four lakh tonnes of potash and 1.5 lakh tonnes of super phosphate. Farmers are alleging that dealers are creating artificial scarcity in order to raise prices.

Mixture plants, which were supposed to procure fertilisers from the Centre, were able to divert fertilisers that were allotted the State. This too had contributed to the shortage, Mr S. Malla Reddy, President of All-India Kisan Sabha, a CPM-affiliated farmers' organisation, said.

He said closure of Ramagundam factory with a capacity to produce 4.5 lt of urea too had led to the crisis. “The State Government assured twice that it will be reopened. But no action has been taken so far. Now that gas is available, we can offer 50 kg bag at Rs 550 as against Rs 1,750 when produced in naptha-based plants,” he said.

The price of DAP (di-ammonium potash) went up to Rs 820, Rs 100 more than the indicated price, in several places.

The Government officials claim that there was no scarcity. When referred to reports from various districts on shortage, an official said that it was all because farmers were buying fertilisers for rabi season.

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