Chennai, May 20:
Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention to ensure the uninterrupted supply of fertilizers, specifically urea and Diammonium Phosphate (DAP), to the State for the 2026 Kharif season.
In his letter, Vijay said there is a shortfall in the supply of fertilizers by manufacturers during April and May 2026. Tamil Nadu is an agrarian State, and agriculture provides livelihood to more than 40% of the population. The gross cultivated area is 62.25 lakh hectares and the net sown area is 48.27 lakh hectares.
About 92% of the total farmers are small and marginal who possess landholdings of less than two hectares. Tamil Nadu is endowed with 3% of India’s water resources and has a diversified cropping system that includes paddy, millets, oilseeds, cotton, sugarcane, vegetables, flowers, fruits, medicinal and aromatic crops, spices and condiments, and plantation crops, Vijay said.
He urged the Prime Minister to direct the authorities concerned to supply the required quantity to meet the demand for the rest of the Kharif season, such as 3.83 lakh MT of urea, 1.05 lakh MT of DAP, and 0.83 lakh MT of MOP.