Concern over seed, fertilizer shortage

BHUBANESWAR: Many MLAs cutting across party lines on Wednesday expressed concern over alleged black-marketing of urea and short supply of fertilizers and seeds in the state during the sowing period of the kharif season.
During question hour when agriculture minister Ranendra Pratap Swain was responding to a question by Congress member Santosh Singh Saluja on urea supply, the MLA said black-marketing and overpricing was rampant. He said licensed shops are selling urea at Rs 400 per 50 kg bag against the normal price of around Rs 285.
Congress member Suresh Kumar Routray said farmers are not getting fertilizers as per requirement and sought the minister’s response on the steps. He also said the farmers are facing shortage of seeds, organic manure and pesticides. Adhiraj Panigrahi of the Congress said farmers were forced to pay more than the maximum retail price. The government, however, remains indifferent, he claimed.
BJP MLA Bhaskar Madhei said farmers in his home district of Mayurbhanj were facing shortage of fertilizers. However, due to shortage of employees in the agriculture department there is no proper monitoring resulting in black-marketing.
Ruling BJD MLA Pradip Kumar Dishari said many traders were forcing farmers to buy certain products which they don’t need while purchasing fertilizers. BJD’s Rudra Pratap Maharathy said his constituency Pipili has got far less fertilizer than required. Similarly, seeds bought from the market were not germinating spoiling crop prospects for the entire year.
Swain said the government has kept a close watch on fertilizer supply and will take strong action against anyone found indulging in black-marketing. Supply of fertilizers is being regulated as an essential commodity, he said.