AMARAVATI: Stating that there is no shortage of fertilisers in state, agriculture commissioner H Arun Kumar has urged the farmers not to go for panic buying as it will result in the shortage.
He said the state government has initiated all measures to keep sufficient stocks ready for the farmers during the Rabi season and farmers need not worry about the reserves.
Speaking to the reporters here on Monday, Arun Kumar said the state government has readied plans to keep about 23.45 lakh metric tonnes of stock available during the Rabi season starting from last October. He said the about 15 lakh metric tonnes of stock was already supplied to the farmers through various Rythu Bharosa Kendras and other outlets in the last five months. “Farmers should take appropriate advice from the agriculture officers before using the required fertilisers depending on the soil health. Over usage of fertilisers will not help improve the soil health or productivity,” said the agriculture commissioner.
He said about 4.65 lakh metric tonnes of fertilisers including 1.74 lakh metric tonnes of urea, 0.29 lakh metric tonnes of DAP, 0.22 lakh metric tonnes of MOP, 0.44 lakh metric tonnes of SSP, and 1.92 lakh metric tonnes of complex fertilisers were available with different RBKs.
He said the Centre had recently allocated another 50,000 metric tonnes of fertilisers to the state following a special request from the state government and the additional stocks were being shifted to East Godavari, West Godavari, Guntur, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Nellore districts keeping in view of the requirement. He said they were also getting regular quota of 2.95 lakh metric tonnes for February from Centre which would also be shifted to RBKs.
Commissioner said they have sold nearly 1.61 lakh metric tonnes of fertilisers to farmers through RBKs during the season against the target of 1.95 lakh metric tonnes.
