Farmers demand urgent increase in urea supply in Khammam

Telangana Rythu Sangham farmers staged a protest in Wyra mandal of Khammam demanding immediate supply of 500 metric tonnes of urea. They warned of falling paddy yields and losses in cotton and green gram due to inadequate fertiliser supply and delayed Markfed purchases

Khammam: Farmers led by Telangana Rythu Sangham staged a protest at Gollenpad in Wyra mandal of the district on Monday demanding an increase in urea supply in accordance with the needs of farmers.

The sangham district secretary Bonthu Rambabu and its mandal secretary Kilaru Srinivasa Rao said injustice was being done in the urea allocations to farmers in the mandal, where paddy was being cultivated in nearly 20,000 acres, the largest area in Khammam.

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They said urea supply should be ensured on a war footing, otherwise paddy yields would decrease significantly. Supply of 50 or 60 tonnes of urea once in ten days was not adequate and farmers, even after waiting for months, were not getting a single urea bag, they said.

Though the agricultural authorities set up more urea supply centres in the mandal, urea was not supplied in the required quantity. The officials should take steps to supply 500 metric tonnes of urea immediately.

Cotton and green gram crops have been damaged due to heavy rains and the cotton yield was likely to fall drastically. Since Markfed purchase centres were not started yet, farmers were facing financial losses as they were forced to sell green gram in the open market for Rs 4000 per quintal, Rambabu said.

He demanded the State government immediately start Markfed purchase centres. Cotton should be purchased in agricultural markets as the Cotton Corporation of India does. Buying cotton at CCI ginning mills would leave farmers at the mercy of ginning mill owners, he noted.