Kharif sowing begins, fertiliser shortage hits Koppal farmers

KOPPAL: There appears to be an acute shortage of fertiliser, especially urea, in Koppal district.Joint Director of Agriculture (JDA) Sadashiva attributed the shortage to demand exceeding supply due to early kharif sowing, especially paddy, in the command area of Tungabhadra Project, following heavy rainfall in the catchment area of Tungabhadra reservoir in June-July.

Though the agriculture department estimated a demand of 70,494 tonnes of fertilisers in the district between April and July, supply stood at 56,722 tonnes, and hence the shortage. Sadashiva attributed the shortage to early paddy sowing. He, however, told TNIE on Friday that fertilisers meant for August and September are being advanced for supply by this month-end to tackle the issue.

The district has a total cultivable area of 3.08 lakh hectares, including 39,558 hectares of Tungabhadra command area. Sowing operations have already been carried out in 2.94 lakh hectares, hence there is high demand for fertilisers, agriculture department officials said.

Meanwhile, long queues of farmers are common at the 20 Raita Sampark Kendras (RSKs) in the district. There have been instances of altercations between RSK officials and farmers. Shortage has led to private fertiliser suppliers exploiting farmers by refusing to display price boards and furnishing bills for purchase, said farmers from Karatagi and Tavaragera towns in the district.

There have also been complaints of a fake fertiliser racket in the district. Six cases of substandard fertilisers have come to light during the kharif season. While an FIR has been filed in one case, measures are being taken to file FIRs in the remaining five, an official told TNIE.