Sale of fertilizers to be restricted to farmers in the Nilgiris

Farmers ploughing their field at Anaikatty village near Udhagamandalam. The Agriculture Department is planning for lesser use of fertilizers.

The sale of fertilizers to farmers in the district is being restricted by the Agriculture Department.

“The Director of Agriculture, Chennai, had issued orders to the district administration to inspect the top 20 buyers in the district. The inspection was conducted by a squad and irregularities like bulk billing and sale of urea to landless farmers were noticed, nine licences were suspended from 7 to 15 days for violating procedures,” a release from the Department of Agriculture stated.

Following this action, a meeting was organised by R. Zakir Nawaz, Assistant Director of Agriculture, Quality Control, here on Thursday for about 100 dealers of fertilizers. They were sensitised to the sale of urea through Point of Sale machines.

The Assistant Director said restrictions had been placed, limiting the sale of fertilizers to farmers.

“A farmer can buy only 100 bags of fertilizer each month and three bills can be done for a season. A planter or estate owner can buy only 500 bags a month. The dealers were also instructed to follow the rules framed under Fertilizer Control Order, 1985. The sale of fertilizer above MRP will be dealt with seriously which will lead to cancellation of licence,” Mr. Nawaz said.

Later, he told The Hindu a recent analysis of plant, soil and water samples in the district had revealed that there was an excessive use of chemical fertilizers. “To curb the use of fertilizers, this sensitisation programme was conducted,” said Mr. Nawaz.