Message from the bread basket: All`s well

FERTILISER SHORTAGE / SPOT REPORT PART-II

PUNJAB

Instead of the fertiliser shortage, it is the shortage of migrant labour that is likely to hamper the paddy sowing season in Punjab. Gurdev Singh of Chanarthan Kalan village in the Fatehgarh Sahib district says the sowing will start from June 15, but he has not been able to arrange labour for that. "Due to the shortage, the labourers available have been asking for three times more of what they got last year. This will severely dent our costs," he says.

The state government has made adequate arrangements for fertiliser supply during the ensuing paddy season. Besides, compared with wheat, paddy requires less fertilisers but more water and pesticides.

The cooperative societies of the villages of Fatehgarh Sahib and Patiala districts say they got their stock of DAP in advance in March. According to the secretary of the cooperative society of Chanarthan Kalan, "We got 3,500 bags of DAP in March against the requirement of 4,000 bags. 500 bags were returned due to lack of space in our warehouse."

Overall, Punjab requires 2.60 lakh metric tonnes of DAP and 13 lakh metric tonnes of urea for the current kharif season (April-September).

HARYANA

Although the supply of fertilisers in Haryana is satisfactory at present, officials apprehend that the coming months may be a cause of concern.

The early rainfall this year has resulted in the sowing of paddy being advanced from June to April in some parts of the state, the officials say, adding that this may lead to the demand for fertilizer going up in the coming month, compared with the allocation for the state that was decided by the central government in March.