The Union government has allotted 23.4 lakh tonnes of fertilizers to the State for the 2013 kharif season.
Nutrients would be supplied to about 75 lakh farmers through a network of 13,150 licensed dealers.
Officials in the Agriculture Department told The Hindu on Friday that the Union government has allotted five lakh tonnes of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), 2.90 lakh tonnes of muriate of potash (MoP), eight lakh tonnes of urea and 7.5 lakh tonnes of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (NPK) fertilizers for the kharif season.
Now, the department has a stock of 6.65 lakh tonnes of fertilizers, including 5.97 lakh tonnes supplied for April and May.
The Chief Minister, on Tuesday, chaired a meeting of the Agriculture Department’s officials instructing them to take steps to ensure adequate supply of fertilizers to farmers in all taluks. The department would monitor movement of fertilizers though a mobile-based fertilizer monitoring system (mFMS) and crack down on illegal stock with traders.
All cooperative and private dealers of fertilizers in wholesale or retail should compulsorily register with mFMS facility, the officials said.
Fall in prices
The officials said that prices of DAP and other fertilizers marginally fell this year on account of fall in the prices of raw materials in the global market.
DAP prices fell by Rs. 1,500 a tonne. DAP prices ruled at Rs. 19,014 a tonne in April 2012.
Prices of other variety of nutrients declined by Rs. 75 to Rs. 70 for a 50 kg bag compared to the last kharif season. Prices of MoP and NPK stood at Rs. 12,000 a tonne and Rs. 15,540 a tonne, respectively, in April 2012, the officials said.
Though the Union government has rolled out Aadhaar-based cash transfers in Mysore and Tumkur districts, it would not be applicable to fertilizers.
Kharif target
The State set a target of kharif acreage at 74.2 lakh hectares of land.
As on May 15, sowing had been completed in 1.42 lakh hectares following summer showers in different parts of the State.
As much as 10.5 lakh quintals of seeds had been procured from different agencies to be distributed at subsidised prices among farmers.
