Fertiliser issue that killed a farmer in police firing in Karnataka when farmers agitated for fertilisers seems to be still not sorted out. Farmers? protests have taken a new turn as farmers have started committing suicides, not bearing the burden due to shortage of fertiliser.
Karnataka is a major Southern state depending on Kharif cultivation to fulfill its food requirement throughout the year. According to figures available with the state agriculture department, net cultivable area stood at 106 lakh hectares in the state. Generally during Kharif season the farmers in the state bring around 78% of the total land holdings (75 lakh hectares) under cultivation while the remaining 31 lakh hectares would be brought under cultivation during Rabi season.
There was a reason for farmers? fury in the state. The farmers in northern parts of Karnataka have not yet recovered from losses they incurred in the previous year due to the failure of cotton crop. Another reason could be the early onset of the monsoon as it led to early sowing of seeds at a time when fertiliser stocks were not yet in place at distribution centre, sources in agriculture department said.
The positive monsoon projections have raised the hopes of farmers for more irrigation that would see more land under cultivation. In this scenario, the farmers would require more fertiliser, particularly for cash crops like sugarcane and cotton.
With the private-run Mangalore Chemical Fertiliser (MCF) being the lone manufacturer of urea and complex fertilisers in the state, Karnataka is heavily dependent on other private and state-run manufacturers such as FACT, Coramandal, Iffco and Kribhco for supply of various types of fertilisers to the tune of 2.9 million tonne for kharif and rabi crops.
The police firing on farmers has come as a black mark for the newly sworn BJP government led by the chief minister BS Yeddyurappa. Police fired at agitating farmers in Haveri district on June 10, killing one farmer. As a damage control action, Yeddyurappa met the prime minister and the union fertiliser minister immediately, and able to get assurance from the union government for the release 1.5 lakh tonne of di-ammonium phosphate fertiliser for Karnataka this month, 20,000 tonne more than the state?s estimated requirement. The fertiliser ministry has also agreed to provide 1.10 lakh tonne of complex fertiliser.
State agriculture minister SA Ravindranath said the state has so far received 56,000 tonne of DAP and 49,000 tonne of complex fertilisers. He said, ?The center has catered to 50% of our request. The rest will be supplied in a week?s time.?
Currently the state government has instituted a vigilance commission to crack down on hoarders and black marketeers of fertilisers. The state has also decided to offer a cash reward of Rs 10,000 for anybody who gives information on hoarding or black-marketing of fertilisers in the state.