Farmers in Bihar Struggle with Shortage of Fertilizer, High Prices of Urea

Despite the central government's claims that the state of Bihar receives an adequate supply of fertilizers, farmers in the state continue to confront a urea scarcity, according to the reports.

In contrast to what Kishore Chaudhary, the minister of state for agriculture and farmers' welfare, has said, Bihar recently received 32 per cent less urea than what the centre had allotted for the kharif season, according to state agriculture secretary N Sararwana Kumar.

Despite a streamlining of the urea supply last month, as per the reports, the state only received roughly 7,00,105 metric tonnes (MT) of the 10,30,000 MTs of urea that were allotted for the month of January.

In December of last year, the supply of urea was over 97 per cent of the allotted capacity. However, the department expects that Bihar will be able to receive its proper allocation in January as well.

Unauthorized traders have been able to sell wheat at a premium because of the urea issue that occurred during the time of irrigation. Compared to the government price of 260, a 50kg packet of urea is reportedly being sold for between Rs 350-400 at present.

Meanwhile, due to a shortfall of urea this month, all district agriculture officials (DAOs) have been instructed to monitor the transportation and distribution of fertilizer to farmers up to the panchayat level.

During this Kharif season, 6,200 fertilizer outlets were raided around the state, and 117 FIRs were filed against individuals responsible for the urea crisis.

In October and November last year, the state received around 60 per cent of the urea supply compared to the promised amount. Although urea supply rose last month, there is still a 32 per cent overall fertilizer deficiency compared to the limit for the entire Kharif season.