Northern farmers mired in fuel-cum-fertiliser crisis
Urea supplies delayed; farmers in diesel queues; millers and middlemen not to be seen due to transport problem
Although Sri Lanka received adequate stocks of urea under the Indian credit line weeks ago, supplies have still not reached some Northern farmers on time largely due to transport problems linked to the fuel crisis.
To overcome the issue, some farmers get together and hire vehicles at exorbitant rates to go to agrarian centres and bring the supplies themselves instead of waiting till the stocks are sent by the authorities. Some say it is a bit too late for application as the crops have already matured.
“We were informed by officials that urea fertiliser had arrived from Colombo and could be collected from the agrarian centres, but I could not get it on time to use it for this season,” Nallamuttu Murugaiyah, a farmer from Pannankandy, Kilinochchi said.
However, he, together with other farmers in the village, hired a mini-van to bring the fertiliser. He said they had to pay more for the hire as the driver claimed he had bought diesel at a higher price in the black market.
Mr. Murugaiyah said he had little use of the fertiliser for this season as his paddy crop was about to be harvested, but he would be using it for the upcoming Maha Season.
Agrarian Development Officer Udayashankar Udayaramesh said the Kilinochchi district’s Agrarian Services Centre received 61 metric tonnes of urea and of this stock about 20MT had been distributed among farmers so far.
Admitting that some farmers did not get their supplies on time due to the fuel crisis, the officer said the balance stock would be distributed among farmers ahead of the next season.
Another agrarian official said he sent out a message to farmers in his area that urea stocks could be collected from him, but farmers told him they could not come as they were stuck in queues to obtain fuel for the harvesting machinery.
Of the 31,707.41 hectares of total
agrarian land in the Kilinochchi district, only 10,935 hectares of land are under cultivation during the current Yala season, whereas during the last Maha season, only around 9,655 hectares were cultivated.
According to a study carried out by the Agrarian Development Department’s Kilinochchi office, the average paddy yield for the Yala season is expected to be 2.3MT a hectare while for the upcoming Maha season it would be around 1.5MT.
Meanwhile, Kilinochchi farmers who cultivated their lands early as per the agrarian schedule for the Yala season are preparing to harvest the crop in the coming weeks, provided they receive fuel for their machinery.
“Within three weeks I have to harvest my paddy field but before that, I need to secure enough diesel for the harvesting machine which I hire,” Subramaniyam Kanapathippillai, a veteran farmer from Thiuvaiyaaru in Kilinochchi said.
After talks between the District Secretariat and area farmer federations, it was decided to provide diesel for farmers on a priority basis at selected fuel stations in the district.
At present, farmers are eligible to get ten litres of diesel per acre for harvesting purposes but they complain this is not enough.
“The cost of everything has gone up, including labour, salaries, bags and machinery. To harvest the crop, in addition to providing diesel, I have to pay the machine operator Rs 15,000,” Mr
Kanapathippillai said.
Farmers also face a problem in selling their harvest. Due to the fuel shortage, mill owners and middlemen from the south are not coming to the district to buy the wet or dry paddy. This has resulted in lower demand for paddy.
“I had to buy urea in the black market at Rs 40,000 a bag and weedicide at Rs 75,000 to start cultivation for this season. If we cannot sell our crops at a decent price, I’m not sure how farmers can survive,” Mr. Kanapathippilai said. He pointed out that some middlemen were trying to buy their paddy at prices as low as Rs 6,000 for a 75kg bag, taking advantage of the current plight of the farmers.
“If this situation prevails and fertiliser, weedicide and fuel are not made available to farmers at an affordable price for the next season, we are not sure whether we can cultivate our fields. Maybe, we will cultivate in a small plot for our own consumption,” the farmer said.