Early Times Report
Jammu, Nov 26: Jammu farmers are once again hit due to severe scarcity of Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) fertilizers. They have accused the agriculture department/ Cooperative department of taking the matter l8ightly.
A farmer of RS Pura, Ramesh Chander informed Early Times that Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) was very much needed during sowing of Rabi crop particular for wheat crop as it was much requirement during sowing period of Rabi crops.
"For the last many years, the farmers have been using DAP manufactured by Indian Farmer Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO)", he said.
Pertinently, IFFCO is a cooperative society, which is amalgamation of thousands of state cooperatives and it produces quality DAP.
"Since we have trust on IFFCO DAP fertilizer and this quality product had been maintaining our reliance for good produce for the last many years but now, we have been facing hardships to get quality fertilizer ", said farmer Krishan Chand, adding that the Cooperative Department has deliberately show shortage of DAP IFFCO fertilizer because of hefty commission from other fertilizer companies which produce and manufacture the fertilizer in neighbouring states.
Raman Kumar a farmer of Kathua said that given the non- availability of sufficient DAP fertilizer of IFFCO at depot/dealer's shop, either the farmers are compelled to purchase the fertilizer of other brands, including Sardar brand, manufactured in Punjab, Uttam fertilizer and IPL DAP or go to neighbouring states especially Punjab to get DAP of IFFCO.
"However, new brand of fertilizer like Sardar brand manufactured in Punjab state is still being tested by the farmers.
He further said that farmers have a view that DAP of other brands, would not give good results in term of yield, so they preferred the DAP of particular Cooperative i,e IFFCO, but it is not available in the market when Rabi crops are at its peak.
"There can be a hidden nexus between the officials of Cooperative department, who may have been getting huge commission from the private fertilizer manufacturers, but the IFFCO is an amalgam of the cooperatives, which will not offer any type of commission to local dealers, so its product is not preferred by Cooperative department", the farmer alleged. |
