Post News Network
Chhatrapur, June 15: Farmers’ organisations here are in mood to launch an agitation over the state government’s decision to provide less quantity of urea fertilizer to Ganjam district than the required one. The district requires a total of 93,750 tonne of fertilizer of various types including 50 tonne of urea this Kharif season. However, the state government has decided to provide only 35,000 tonne of the fertilizer, official sources said.
Meanwhile, district collector Premchandra Choudhury has sent a letter to the government asking for more quantity of fertilizer.
He has appealed to the farmers to cultivate Dhanicha which works as green manure and reduces requirement of chemical fertilizer.
The district administration had sought for 73,415 tonne of fertilizer last year against which, the government provided 56,283 tonne. Out of this, the requirement of urea was 50,000 tonne, while the supply was 41,393 tonne.
Deputy director of agriculture Sudarshan Mohanty said the farmers can get fertilizers at subsidised rates from 67 whole-sellers and 653 retailers in the district.
The collector also emphasised on timely supply of fertilizer to farmers at prescribed rates. He received several complaints of fertilizer being sold at higher prices at some places due to extra cost of transportation. A meeting was convened to discuss the issue.
Measures have been taken to check black-marketing of fertilizer. A Vigilance squad would be formed in each sub-division to check the illegal practice. That apart, the retailers and whole-sellers have been asked to display the rate chart of all varieties of fertilizer outside their outlets.