'No shortage of seeds, fertiliser in state'

Karnataka government today asserted that there was no shortage of sowing seeds and chemical fertiliser in the state and warned traders creating artificial scarcity.

There is a demand for 817,000 quintal of certified seeds in the state and it had 890,000 tonnes stocks presently, State’s Minister for Agriculture Umesh Katti told reporters.

The state had 590,000 tonnes of chemical fertiliser stocks as of now and supplies are coming every month into the state which has a demand for 2.33 million tonnes, he said.

Those traders selling seeds and fertilisers at higher prices than those fixed by the government, will face cancellation of licence, Katti warned. In the wake of drop in prices of paddy ranging from Rs 50 per quintal to Rs 100 per quintal, he said he planned to call on Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to plead for fixing of a minimum support price for the produce.