Kumar Bahukhandi
Symbolic picture – Photo Credit : photostocs
In Short
*Target of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium (NPK ) and Single Super Phosphate (SSP) fertilizers increased by 4.62 lakh metric tonnes
*Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said farmers need not worry
*Target of fertilizer distribution now 17.18 lakh metric tonnes in the current Kharif season
Raipur: Due to reduction in import of DAP fertilizer in the country, Chhattisgarh government has found an alternative way to affect the supply of DAP in the state in the current Kharif season. Farmers need not worry due to shortage of DAP fertilizer. In place of DAP, the availability of NPK and SSP fertilizers in abundant quantity as an alternative to it is being ensured through societies.
To meet the shortage of DAP, the Chhattisgarh government has increased the distribution target of NPK (20:20:013) and NPK (12:32:13) by 3.10 lakh metric tonnes and the distribution target of SSP by 1.80 lakh metric tonnes and has also ensured a strong arrangement for its storage and distribution. Due to the increase in the target of NPK and SSP, the distribution target of various types of chemical fertilizers in the current Kharif season has increased from 14.62 lakh metric tonness to 17.18 lakh metric tonnes.
Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai has said that farmers need not worry about the shortage of DAP fertilizer. As an alternative, the Chhattisgarh government has ensured ample arrangements for other chemical fertilizers like NPK and SSP. As per the suggestions of agricultural scientists of Indira Agricultural University and officials of the Agriculture Department, farmers can get better production by using the alternate fertilizers instead of DAP.
A close watch is being kept to ensure that the societies make availability of fertilizers and seeds to the farmers as per their demand. Resolving the problems of farmers is the top priority of the government.
It is worth mentioning here that the target of distributing 14.62 lakh metric tonnes of fertilizers in the current Kharif season was set by the Agriculture Department, which included 7.12 lakh metric tonness of urea, 3.10 lakh metric tonnes of DAP, 1.80 lakh metric tonnes of NPK, 60 thousand metric tonnes of MOP, 2 lakh metric tonness of SSP.
In view of the shortage of DAP, the Agriculture Department has revised this target. Due to shortage of DAP supply, its target has been reduced from 3.10 lakh metric tonnes to 1.03 lakh metric tonnes, while the target of 1.80 lakh metric tonness of NPK has been increased to 4.90 lakh metric tonnes and 2 lakh metric tonnes of SSP has been increased to 3.53 lakh metric tonnes.
The pre-determined target of urea and MOP has been kept intact. Due to this revised target, the quantity of distribution of chemical fertilizers has increased from 14.62 lakh metric tonnes to 17.18 lakh metric tonnes.
Agricultural experts say that the shortage of DAP can be met by using the prescribed quantity of other fertilizers and crop production can be improved. If the nutrients required for crops such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potash are available in sufficient quantity, then there is no reduction in the yield.
In view of the shortage of DAP, farmers have been advised to use other phosphate fertilizers. Each bag of DAP contains 23 kg of phosphorus and 9 kg of nitrogen. As an alternative, by using three bags of SSP and one bag of urea, the plants get adequate amount of phosphorus, calcium, nitrogen and sulfur. SSP fertilizer is helpful in the growth of plants as well as the development of roots, its use helps in increasing the quality and yield of the crop. Farmers can also use bio-fertilizers to overcome the shortage of DAP.
According to the information received from the Agriculture Department, 12.13 lakh metric tonnes of fertilizers have been stored to ensure the availability of various types of chemical fertilizers to farmers in Kharif-2025, out of which 7.29 lakh metric tonnes have been distributed to the farmers. Currently, 4.84 lakh metric tonnes of fertilizers are available for distribution in the cooperative and private sectors in the state.
