Chennai: Chief Minister MK Stalin has urged the Union government to ensure timely supply of the entire quantum of urea and other fertilisers to meet the demand during the Samba season.
With a shortfall in the supply of nutrients, particularly Urea, di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and muriate of potash (MOP) to Tamilnadu, Stalin urged the Centre to provide additional 25,000 metric tonnes of DAP and 10,000 MT of MOP to the State to save the farm sector from a crisis.
He wrote to Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya, urging him to instruct officials to ensure the timely supply of urea, as per the supply plan, to benefit farmers.
In his communication to the Union Minister, the CM said Tamilnadu had been allocated a reduced supply plan of fertilisers for October, a lot lesser than the requirement of urea and DAP. While the requirement of urea for October was 1,66,700 lakh MT, the supply plan of the Union government for the month was 1,43,500 lakh MT, and the supply made was 61,384 lakh MT.
‘Samba (Rabi) season is very important to Tamilnadu which is unique among all States. This year, the State has programmed to achieve 125 lakh metric tonnes of foodgrains with clear strategies for increasing the area under rice, millets, and pulses. Any shortfall in supply of urea and DAP will affect the yield and in turn, the income of the farmers,’ Stalin told Mandaviya.
Though, the Centre ought to have supplied 4.911 lakh MT urea to meet its demand from April to September 2021, the fertiliser companies have supplied 3.852 lakh MT urea to Tamilnadu, leading to a shortfall of 1.059 lakh MT. Similarly, of the 1.47 lakh MT DAP to be supplied during this period, only 1.15 lakh MT DAP was supplied, leading to a shortfall of 32,000 MT.
Expressing surprise at the plan for October, Stalin said there is a reduced supply plan for Tamilnadu.