No fertiliser shortage in Odisha: Minister

Bhubaneswar, Jul 20 (PTI) Odisha Cooperation Minister Pradeep Bal Samanta on Monday said there was no shortage of fertilisers in the state, rejecting opposition allegations of scarcity of urea and DAP during the ongoing paddy cultivation season. Samanta said the state had adequate stocks and the government was closely monitoring supplies to ensure timely distribution among farmers. "As of July 17, the Cooperation Department had received 1.81 lakh ton of fertiliser and supplied it to cooperative organisations for distribution. Of this, 1.14 lakh ton has already been distributed among farmers," he told reporters. He said the Agriculture and Farmers' Empowerment Department procures fertilisers, 60 per cent of which are supplied to the Cooperation Department for distribution through Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS). "Strict action will be taken against anyone found involved in black marketing or hoarding of fertilisers," he said. Meanwhile, the Agriculture and Farmers' Empowerment Department has advised district collectors to encourage farmers to use ammonium sulphate as an alternative to urea during the current cropping season. According to the department, ammonium sulphate contains 20.5 per cent nitrogen and 23 per cent sulphur and can help improve crop yield while addressing sulphur deficiency in the soil. The move drew criticism from the opposition. Senior BJD leader and former agriculture minister Arun Kumar Sahoo alleged that farmers were struggling to procure urea and DAP while the government was asking them to use ammonium sulphate instead. Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati also claimed that farmers were spending nights in queues to obtain fertilisers despite the government's assertion that stocks were sufficient. Responding to the criticism, Samanta reiterated that ammonium sulphate is a suitable alternative to urea and DAP and farmers could use it to obtain similar results in their crops. PTI BBM BBM SOM