Sanjay Parate
Like every year, this time too farmers across the country are facing acute shortage of fertilizers and Chhattisgarh is also not untouched by it. This year too there is shortage of urea and DAP fertilizers in the cooperative societies of Chhattisgarh. Poor farmers are standing in queues hungry and thirsty for two days and then they have to return disappointed. The government is only assuring them that there is sufficient stock, do not worry. The farmer knows from his experience that he will not get fertilizers just by assurances. And if he does not struggle, then Mother Earth will also not forgive him and the entire crop will be ruined. Now he does not have even a week's time to save his crop. That is why he is on the streets. He is facing lathis of the administration and abuses of the officials as well. All this because to feed himself and this world, he has to feed Mother Earth.
Paddy is the main crop of Chhattisgarh in Kharif season. Urea and DAP are the main fertilizers for paddy crop. According to agricultural scientist P N Singh, 200 kg of urea fertilizer is required for one acre of paddy cultivation. According to this, how much fertilizer does Chhattisgarh need?
Paddy is cultivated in about 39 lakh hectares in Chhattisgarh. So the state will need 19 lakh tons of urea, whereas the state government has set a target of providing only 7 lakh tons of urea to the cooperative societies. Thus, the availability of urea per hectare in the state is only 122 kg ie. 49 kg per acre. You can say that Chhattisgarh does not have such advanced farming that 19 lakh tons of urea fertilizer is needed. This is true. But shouldn't the government move towards advanced farming and isn't it responsible to provide the necessary fertilizer for this?
The average consumption of chemical fertilizers in the country is 68 kg per acre in the whole year, whereas in Chhattisgarh it is only 30 kg. In the year 2009, this consumption was 38 kg per acre. It is clear that with the decrease in availability, the consumption of fertilizers has also decreased and this has had an adverse effect on agricultural production and productivity. In tribal areas, this consumption is only 10 kg per acre. Is it possible to cultivate paddy by using 10 kg of chemical fertilizers in one acre? If farming is so backward in tribal areas, then the reason for this is also their economic plight. They do not have access to fertilizers from societies.
The number of members in 1333 cooperative societies of Chhattisgarh is 14 lakh, out of which only 9 lakh members get benefits from these societies. There are 8 lakh big and medium farmers in the state, who usurp the entire facility of these societies. 5 lakh members associated with these societies and 20 lakh farmers outside its scope, a total of 25 lakh small and marginal farmers are deprived of their benefits and are dependent on the mercy of the market. They do not have the capacity to go to the market and buy fertilizers being sold in the black market at double or triple the government rates.
The shortage of DAP and urea in Chhattisgarh has led to black marketing of fertilizers and urea worth Rs 266 per bag is being sold for Rs 1000 and DAP worth Rs 1350 per bag is being sold for Rs 2000. The BJP government has failed to stop this black marketing. Due to this, farming has been adversely affected as the cost of the crop has increased. This crisis is despite the fact that the use of fertilizer per acre in Chhattisgarh is much less than the all India average. At present, the all India average of the use of all types of fertilizers is 120 kg per acre, whereas in Chhattisgarh it is only 38 kg.
In Chhattisgarh, agriculture is done in about 48 lakh hectares of land including paddy cultivation. Paddy is the main crop, but sugarcane, maize and other coarse grains, gram and other pulses, sesame and other oilseeds and vegetable cultivation is also abundant. Different types of fertilizers are used according to the nature of the land, season and crop needs.
In Chhattisgarh, the government provides an average of 14 lakh tonnes of fertilizer for the Kharif season, which includes 7 lakh tonnes of urea, 3 lakh tonnes of DAP and 2 lakh tonnes of SSP. This is much less than the requirement. But even 45 percent of this availability is distributed through the private sector and this fertilizer is sold in the black market under the guise of crisis.
The current fertilizer crisis has arisen due to acute shortage of DAP and the government has reduced the target of DAP distribution from 3 lakh tons to 1 lakh tons. The government argues that the shortage of 1 bag of DAP can be compensated by the combined use of 3 bags of SSP and 1 bag of urea. According to this logic, the government should provide 2 lakh tons of urea and 6 lakh tons of SSP fertilizers in proportionately, but the quantity of urea has not been increased and only 3.5 lakh tons of SSP is being made available additionally. Thus, now there is a shortage of urea and SSP along with DAP in the state.
After the shortage of DAP, Chhattisgarh now needs at least 22 lakh tonnes of fertilizer, but only 17 lakh tonnes are available. There is a shortage of 5 lakh tonnes of fertilizer, which will adversely affect farming. The government claims that it has also compensated for this shortage through nano urea and nano DAP. It has provided a total of 2.91 lakh bottles (500 ml) of nano urea and 2.93 lakh bottles (500 ml) of nano DAP to the cooperative and private sector. Farmers have a lot of doubts about the utility and effectiveness of nano fertilizer. But even if they use these liquid fertilizers out of compulsion, its total effect will be equal to 7245 tonnes of fertilizer, which will compensate only a negligible part (1.5 percent) of the total shortage of fertilizers. The steps that it has pretended to take to compensate for the shortage of DAP have deepened the fertilizer crisis, because now there is a shortage not only of DAP, but also of urea and SSP. But the government is adamant on its claim of meeting the shortage of 5 lakh tonnes of solid fertilizer through nano fertilizer, so should this miracle of the government be appreciated or saluted?
Even if farmers get fertilizers easily, the use of urea and SSP fertilizers instead of DAP will increase the cost per acre by Rs 1000. But if they are forced to buy fertilizers in the black market, then the additional cost of farming will be Rs 2000 per acre. If we consider the additional cost of Rs 1500 per acre on an average, then an additional burden of Rs 1800 crore will fall on the farmer community. This will lead to further losses in farming. Farmers do not get this much money even in the Prime Minister Kisan Yojana or bonus. This is a situation of taking from one hand and giving from the other.
Chhattisgarh is one of the leading states in terms of farmer suicides. As long as NCRB data was available, its analysis shows that 45 farmers were committing suicide every year among one lakh farmer families. The large scale corporatization of agriculture has taken place in Modi's rule and the natural resources of this state are being handed over to the corporates in the 'Saayan-Saayan' rule of the BJP, from this it can be easily assumed that the agricultural crisis has worsened and farmer suicides in the state would have increased further.
The pro-corporate policies of the Modi government are responsible for the plight of farmers. The policies of privatisation in the fertilizer sector that the Modi government is following have resulted in the government losing control over the prices of fertilizers. Farmers are paying the price of these policies with their lives. They are dying while standing in queues, they are dying after getting trapped in the web of money lending and microfinance loans or they are committing suicide. This is a dangerous situation for the agriculture and farmers of Chhattisgarh.
The author is an independent writer on politics, social and agrarian issues. The views are personal.
Paddy is the main crop of Chhattisgarh in Kharif season. Urea and DAP are the main fertilizers for paddy crop. According to agricultural scientist P N Singh, 200 kg of urea fertilizer is required for one acre of paddy cultivation. According to this, how much fertilizer does Chhattisgarh need?
Paddy is cultivated in about 39 lakh hectares in Chhattisgarh. So the state will need 19 lakh tons of urea, whereas the state government has set a target of providing only 7 lakh tons of urea to the cooperative societies. Thus, the availability of urea per hectare in the state is only 122 kg ie. 49 kg per acre. You can say that Chhattisgarh does not have such advanced farming that 19 lakh tons of urea fertilizer is needed. This is true. But shouldn't the government move towards advanced farming and isn't it responsible to provide the necessary fertilizer for this?
The average consumption of chemical fertilizers in the country is 68 kg per acre in the whole year, whereas in Chhattisgarh it is only 30 kg. In the year 2009, this consumption was 38 kg per acre. It is clear that with the decrease in availability, the consumption of fertilizers has also decreased and this has had an adverse effect on agricultural production and productivity. In tribal areas, this consumption is only 10 kg per acre. Is it possible to cultivate paddy by using 10 kg of chemical fertilizers in one acre? If farming is so backward in tribal areas, then the reason for this is also their economic plight. They do not have access to fertilizers from societies.
The number of members in 1333 cooperative societies of Chhattisgarh is 14 lakh, out of which only 9 lakh members get benefits from these societies. There are 8 lakh big and medium farmers in the state, who usurp the entire facility of these societies. 5 lakh members associated with these societies and 20 lakh farmers outside its scope, a total of 25 lakh small and marginal farmers are deprived of their benefits and are dependent on the mercy of the market. They do not have the capacity to go to the market and buy fertilizers being sold in the black market at double or triple the government rates.
The shortage of DAP and urea in Chhattisgarh has led to black marketing of fertilizers and urea worth Rs 266 per bag is being sold for Rs 1000 and DAP worth Rs 1350 per bag is being sold for Rs 2000. The BJP government has failed to stop this black marketing. Due to this, farming has been adversely affected as the cost of the crop has increased. This crisis is despite the fact that the use of fertilizer per acre in Chhattisgarh is much less than the all India average. At present, the all India average of the use of all types of fertilizers is 120 kg per acre, whereas in Chhattisgarh it is only 38 kg.
In Chhattisgarh, agriculture is done in about 48 lakh hectares of land including paddy cultivation. Paddy is the main crop, but sugarcane, maize and other coarse grains, gram and other pulses, sesame and other oilseeds and vegetable cultivation is also abundant. Different types of fertilizers are used according to the nature of the land, season and crop needs.
In Chhattisgarh, the government provides an average of 14 lakh tonnes of fertilizer for the Kharif season, which includes 7 lakh tonnes of urea, 3 lakh tonnes of DAP and 2 lakh tonnes of SSP. This is much less than the requirement. But even 45 percent of this availability is distributed through the private sector and this fertilizer is sold in the black market under the guise of crisis.
The current fertilizer crisis has arisen due to acute shortage of DAP and the government has reduced the target of DAP distribution from 3 lakh tons to 1 lakh tons. The government argues that the shortage of 1 bag of DAP can be compensated by the combined use of 3 bags of SSP and 1 bag of urea. According to this logic, the government should provide 2 lakh tons of urea and 6 lakh tons of SSP fertilizers in proportionately, but the quantity of urea has not been increased and only 3.5 lakh tons of SSP is being made available additionally. Thus, now there is a shortage of urea and SSP along with DAP in the state.
After the shortage of DAP, Chhattisgarh now needs at least 22 lakh tonnes of fertilizer, but only 17 lakh tonnes are available. There is a shortage of 5 lakh tonnes of fertilizer, which will adversely affect farming. The government claims that it has also compensated for this shortage through nano urea and nano DAP. It has provided a total of 2.91 lakh bottles (500 ml) of nano urea and 2.93 lakh bottles (500 ml) of nano DAP to the cooperative and private sector. Farmers have a lot of doubts about the utility and effectiveness of nano fertilizer. But even if they use these liquid fertilizers out of compulsion, its total effect will be equal to 7245 tonnes of fertilizer, which will compensate only a negligible part (1.5 percent) of the total shortage of fertilizers. The steps that it has pretended to take to compensate for the shortage of DAP have deepened the fertilizer crisis, because now there is a shortage not only of DAP, but also of urea and SSP. But the government is adamant on its claim of meeting the shortage of 5 lakh tonnes of solid fertilizer through nano fertilizer, so should this miracle of the government be appreciated or saluted?
Even if farmers get fertilizers easily, the use of urea and SSP fertilizers instead of DAP will increase the cost per acre by Rs 1000. But if they are forced to buy fertilizers in the black market, then the additional cost of farming will be Rs 2000 per acre. If we consider the additional cost of Rs 1500 per acre on an average, then an additional burden of Rs 1800 crore will fall on the farmer community. This will lead to further losses in farming. Farmers do not get this much money even in the Prime Minister Kisan Yojana or bonus. This is a situation of taking from one hand and giving from the other.
Chhattisgarh is one of the leading states in terms of farmer suicides. As long as NCRB data was available, its analysis shows that 45 farmers were committing suicide every year among one lakh farmer families. The large scale corporatization of agriculture has taken place in Modi's rule and the natural resources of this state are being handed over to the corporates in the 'Saayan-Saayan' rule of the BJP, from this it can be easily assumed that the agricultural crisis has worsened and farmer suicides in the state would have increased further.
The pro-corporate policies of the Modi government are responsible for the plight of farmers. The policies of privatisation in the fertilizer sector that the Modi government is following have resulted in the government losing control over the prices of fertilizers. Farmers are paying the price of these policies with their lives. They are dying while standing in queues, they are dying after getting trapped in the web of money lending and microfinance loans or they are committing suicide. This is a dangerous situation for the agriculture and farmers of Chhattisgarh.
The author is an independent writer on politics, social and agrarian issues. The views are personal.
Comments (0)
Leave a Comment