UP to get DAP fertiliser as per its requirement, assures Centre

LUCKNOW : The Centre has assured the Uttar Pradesh government that shortage of diammonium phosphate (DAP) will not be allowed to take place in the state as all coordinated efforts are being made to ensure farmers get adequate supply of the fertiliser in November and December to meet their sowing requirements.

State chief secretary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari and other officials of the agriculture department have held a meeting with Union secretary, fertilisers, RK Chaturvedi here to discuss the prevailing shortage of the DAP, the second most consumed fertiliser after urea in the state. “The secretary, fertilisers, assured us that the DAP would be made available to the state as per its requirement and no shortage would be allowed to hit the sowing in the state,” the chief secretary said.

“We on our part have made necessary arrangements to ensure smooth distribution of the fertiliser to farmers by acting against those indulging into black marketing,” he added.

The Centre’s assurance comes amid news of farmers waiting in long queues outside cooperative societies to procure the fertiliser and even staging protests and blocking roads in various districts to draw authorities’ attention to the crisis.

The DAP shortage has occurred in the state at a time when the assembly polls are only three months away and the Opposition parties are already making this a big issue by turning heat on the government for its alleged failure to make the DAP available to farmers.

The DAP as a fertiliser is used as a basal dose before sowing of crops like potato and wheat in the state and Agra and Aligarh regions that are termed as potato belts are said to be the worst affected by the shortage.

Additional chief secretary, agriculture, Devesh Chaturvedi who was privy to the meeting, said the countrywide shortage of the DAP occurred due to sharp increase in the global import prices. The DAP, he pointed out, was not produced in the country and had to be sourced from other countries, largely the Gulf countries. “Despite the shortage, we tried out best to make the fertiliser available to farmers to avoid the sowing getting delayed and the Centre has told us that adequate amount of DAP will be provided to UP in November and December,” he said.

According to Chaturvedi, UP’s requirement of DAP for the current month was estimated to be 6 lakh tons of which 2.25 lakh tons was already made available to the state by November 11 even as 3 lakh tons was also available in the stock. The December requirement, he said, was only 3 lakh tons. “The supply continues to come with the rakes being in transit and we are sending the fertiliser to the districts as per their requirement,” he said adding “We have also coordinated with the Railways for early and seamless arrival of rakes of fertiliser.

The shortage, he said, was also due to the delayed arrival of rakes that came from very far-off places. “The Railways has set up a special cell to monitor and ensure that rakes take as less time as possible to reach their destination and return,” Chaturvedi said. He said there was no shortage of urea in the state.