Urea shortage in Telangana leaves farmers fuming during Kharif

Hyderabad: Telangana continues to grapple with a urea shortage amid the Kharif season, with farmers lining up for hours outside Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) and alleging that they are not receiving sufficient quantities for their crops. Many have expressed anger and frustration against the state government.

Several videos emerged on social media platforms on Tuesday, August 25, showing long queues of farmers standing patiently for hours, and some even for days, to receive the fertiliser.

In one video, the queue is over half a kilometre long as desperate farmers wait at the Ismail Khanpet PACS in Sangareddy mandal. Mild tension prevailed as farmers flocked to receive urea, resulting in scuffles with the officials.

In Gudur mandal of Mahabubabad district, farmers stand in front of a PACS center, braving rains to receive urea. One woman farmer vented her frustration to a local media saying, “Since ten days, I have been coming to the center with hopes of getting urea for my crops. But the officials are hoodwinking us,” she alleged.

An elderly woman who is nursing a broken hand said, “I have three acres of land. I have been sitting outside the center for 2-3 days and yet received no urea,” she said.

Farmers of Pulkal village in Sangareddy district staged a demonstration alleging exploitation by shop owners. One farmer said, “The shopkeepers are charging an extra amount of Rs 40, and in return, we get liquid urea instead of a kilogram of bag. This bottle is not enough for our fields.”

On August 20, the Union Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers approved the supply of 50,000 tonnes of urea to Telangana, which is expected to help the state overcome urea shortage.

BRS, BJP hit out at Telangana govt

Meanwhile, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have blamed the Revanth Reddy government for creating an ‘artificial shortage’ by hoarding urea stocks.

BRS working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) criticised chief minster Revanth Reddy for prioritising Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar over the plight of struggling farmers.

“Farmers’ cries are here Where are the state CM, ministers? If problems are here CM, ministers are in Delhi, Bihar! When farmers are pleading for urea Wherever there are elections, do you fly there!” KTR stated in a post on X.

He alleged that the crisis is an “artificial scarcity” and claimed that the ruling party was diverting stocks and selling them in black markets.

Union minister and BJP leader G Kishan Reddy also put forward similar allegations alleging that urea imports from China and Ukraine have been affected in recent times, despite which the Centre is trying to provide the fertiliser at a subsidised rate. He alleged that the urea supplied by the Centre is being siphoned off to the black market, and demanded an explanation from Congress in Telangana.

Centre, global crises blamed for urea shortage

Amid the ongoing tussle, state agriculture minister Thummala Nageswara Rao issued an open letter on Tuesday, August 25, to farmers explaining reasons for the shortage and criticising the opposition for politicising the issue and spreading false propaganda.

“The reasons for the urea shortage were due to import disruptions and domestic production issues,” he said.

The minister stated that due to the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war, Iran–Israel conflict, and shipping disruptions in the Red Sea, much of the allocated stock did not arrive. “Out of the 3.96 LMT (lakh metric tonne) allocated, only 2.10 LMT has been supplied so far,” read his letter.

He also said that the Centre had mainly allocated domestic urea from Ramagundam Fertiliser Corporation Ltd. (RFCL) to Telangana, but here too, out of the 1.69 LMT allocated, only 1.06 LMT was supplied till August.

The agriculture minister further added that seven letters were sent to the central government and CM Revanth also raised the issue with the Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers, JP Nadda.

“Currently, Telangana is at a shortfall of 2.58 LMT of urea and out of the 50,000 MT promised by the Center last week, 35,000 MT has arrived. The government has also put forward alternatives and long term solutions to the issue,” his letter read.

The government has also proposed to reduce the price gap between urea and complex fertilisers, which will balance usage and reduce over-dependence on urea. The state has also asked the Centre to strengthen domestic urea production to match national demand, the letter read.