Punjab faces acute DAP shortage, farmers call it artificial crisis

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 17

A rake of diammonium phosphate (DAP), the most widely used fertiliser, reached Nabha on Friday morning. It was meant to be distributed to both private and cooperative societies.

As farmers in the area learnt about this, they immediately gheraoed the rake and did not allow its distribution to private entities, alleging that an artificial scarcity was being created so that they would be forced to buy the fertiliser at a higher rate of Rs 1,500 per bag against its price of Rs 1,200.

The gherao by around 500 farmers continued till late in the evening. It was only on the intervention of the civic and police authorities that the blockade was lifted. This may have been a one-off incident, but considering that the DAP — a must for potato and wheat farmers this time of the year— is in short supply, the authorities apprehend a difficult time in the face of farmers’ unrest.

Sources say the state requires 5.5 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of the DAP this rabi marketing season, but it has just 1.8 LMT.

Gurjit Singh of Gowara village in Malerkotla told The Tribune that none of the cooperative societies in nearby areas of his village had the DAP stock. Potato and pea growers require three to four bags (of 50 kg each) of the DAP per acre, while wheat farmers require one bag per acre.

In Barnala, Punjab Agro Inputs Dealers’ Association spokesman Gokul Chand Gupta said: “It is unfair to blame dealers for selling other goods along with DAP. That is how fertiliser manufacturers are selling the DAP to us. They are the ones who are earning profit.”

Charge & counter-charge

Farmers have no option, but to buy the DAP at a premium. In many areas, where DAP is available for Rs1,200 a bag, dealers sell it with a pack of sulphur or weedicides, which are slow-moving goods. —Gurjit Singh, farmer

It is unfair to blame dealers for selling other goods along with the DAP. That is exactly how fertiliser manufacturers are selling the DAP to us. They are the ones who are earning profit. —Gokul Chand Gupta, Fertiliser dealer

He said there were reports of DAP being sold on the black market and that the association had advised its members against malpractices. Sources say since the state is getting lesser share than its allocation, the stock at cooperative societies is minimal. They say even urea, which has to be applied on wheat within a fortnight of its sowing, is in short supply.

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