State-Centre blame game over urea crisis casts shadow on Kharif momentum in Telangana

Kharif sowing has gained momentum in Telangana with improved rainfall, but a severe urea shortage persists. Protests have erupted across districts, as farmers face inflated prices and supply gaps, with the State-Centre blame game stalling resolution of the crisis.

Hyderabad: Kharif sowing activity in Telangana has picked up pace with the revival of the southwest monsoon, but the season continues to be disrupted by a severe urea shortage. Despite decent rainfall and a surge in acreage, farmers are battling a fertiliser crisis that threatens to affect crop productivity.

As of July 16, crops were sown across 61,10,170 acres, slightly lower than the 61,63,098 acres recorded on the same date last year, and below the normal Kharif target of 66,41,809 acres, according to the Agriculture Department. The last week saw over a 10 percent increase in acreage, largely due to the rainfall revival.

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Cotton remains the leading crop, covering over 40 lakh acres, followed by paddy across 10 lakh acres. While the rainfall deficit that hampered early sowing has eased, the acute shortage of urea, a critical nitrogen-based fertiliser, remains unresolved.

Supply disruptions, rising demand and gaps in production have resulted in distressing scenes at distribution centres across several districts, including Nalgonda, Khammam, Warangal, Adilabad and Kamareddy.

In Adilabad, hundreds queued at the Agricultural Cooperative Society, where only 440 urea bags were distributed, far fewer than required, forcing many to turn to private dealers, where prices have shot up to Rs. 300 or more per 45 kg bag, against the official price of Rs. 266.

Similar protests were reported from Bheemini in Mancherial, where only 780 bags were available against demand for nearly double that number. In Mahabubabad’s Pougullapalli and Kotapalli, farmers stood in rain for hours only to be handed a single bag per acre, sparking frustration and allegations of hoarding and black marketing.

For the 2024–25 Kharif season, the Centre allocated 6.81 lakh metric tonnes of urea against Telangana’s projected requirement of 8.54 lakh metric tonnes. Between April and June, the State received just 3.07 lakh metric tonnes as against a demand of 5 lakh metric tonnes, a deficit of nearly 2 lakh metric tonnes.

In July, only 29,000 tonnes have been received so far, though the State had sought 63,000 tonnes of domestic and 97,000 tonnes of imported urea.

Agricultural experts have warned that delays in fertiliser supply could lead to a 10–15 per cent drop in yield across Telangana’s 53.51 lakh hectares of cultivated land.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy had on July 8 met Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers J.P. Nadda and demanded immediate release of Telangana’s pending quota, pointing to the 1.94 lakh metric tonne shortfall for April–June. He also warned of action against diversion of stocks for non-agricultural purposes, and announced toll-free numbers for farmers to report irregularities.

Nadda had assured full cooperation and promised no shortages in July and August.

However, the on-ground situation remains largely unchanged, with many farmers forced to buy from private sources at inflated rates.

Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, countering the State’s allegations, claimed the Centre had supplied 10.02 lakh metric tonnes of urea for the 2024–25 Rabi season, exceeding the State’s demand, and provided an additional 16,000 tonnes in February this year.

State Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao, who also wrote to the Centre, blamed delays in supply and transport. He said while over 1.22 lakh metric tonnes of urea are available in State godowns, distribution issues were delaying last-mile delivery.