DAP Crisis: First we lost Cotton, now Wheat may Meet Similar Fate, say Haryana Farmers

Amar Singh rushes to the counter every time he hears something about distribution of DAP (Diammonium Phosphate) bags. He pushes makes his way through a crowd of farmers outside a fertiliser shop in New Anaj Mandi in Haryana’s Sirsa to check if the dealer’s staff is calling out his name.

Singh has been travelling from his village Bajekan to the market for third consecutive day in the hope of getting some bags of this fertiliser to prepare his farmland for sowing.

A similar commotion can be seen outside every shop in the mandi spread across acres, with farmers getting more and more restless as the sowing season draws to an end. They fear that crop production would be severally affected if they do not receive DAP in time.

Farmers in this region consider the period from October 15 to November 15 ideal to sow seeds of crops like wheat and mustard. Delayed sowing would mean lower production, as the plant would flower less tillers.

Talking to NewsClick, Singh says he reaches the market as early as 4 a.m in the hope for getting some DAP bags. However, dealers request him to wait as the supply does not seem to be meeting demand.

“I planted cotton in seven acres last season but the pink bull worm devastated it completely. The average production in normal circumstances would be 10 quintals per acre, whereas this time we only got three quintals per acre, which hardly covers our costs,” he says, adding that “the rising prices of diesel is already a huge burden on our backs.”

Singh says “what remains to be seen is promises made about compensation. Banks have been deducting insurance premium ce of Rs 1,700 per acre under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana automatically if you take a loan on Kisan Credit Card. However, insurance companies and its officials are completely missing from the ground when we are in dire straits. We do not have any money now. The only money I have is from sales of guar gum and cotton residue of cotton”

He says farmers expected that their losses could be covered by sowing wheat timely but that hope has also vanished now. “The state and Central governments knew from the beginning that farmers will need fertilisers but they did not act in time,” he adds. Singh says he may lose 50 kg crop per day once the sowing season is over.

For Manpreet Singh, the wait for DAP is even longer. It’s his fifth day in the mandi and there is still no assurance of any fertiliser bags. “Ministers have been telling the public that there is no dearth of fertiliser. They should come to the mandi to see the situation. We have stopped other work completely just to get the fertilisers. J P Dalal should know that it is required for farming. Nobody eats it. So, he should stop making statements about hoarding by farmers”, he says angrily.

J P Dalal, Haryana’s Minister for Agriculture, has been claiming that there is no dearth of fertiliser and “farmers have been hoarding” fertilisers in speculation that they may not get it in future.

Hamjinder Singh, a young farmer, told NewsClick that the fertiliser crisis has translated into the worst period, particularly for small farmers and agricultural workers, who form a major part of peasantry in this region.

“Sirsa was one of few districts that produced record wheat in previous years and was awarded by the Centre for achieving this incredible feat. Despite this, the farmers here are witnessing a dreadful time. This needs to be seen in perspective as we recently saw a disaster where cotton was eaten away by pink bull worm. This area is close to Rajasthan and many workers came here to pluck cotton. When they heard about it, they did not come. So, it is not only a stressful period for farmers but also landless agriculture workers who assist us in production,” he says.

The crisis was worse in Ahirwal region tate where farmers looted bags of DAP after queuing for days in Bhiwani and Rewari districts, leading to a serious law and order situation.

Farm leaders and experts maintain that officials in Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers did not act swiftly even as DAP prices soared to $700 per tonne this year in the international market in comparison to $434 per tonne last  year. Subsequently, this was reflected in allocation from the Centre to Haryana, which needs about three lakh tonnes of fertiliser against the supply of two lakh tonne. Demand started picking up from October 15 when the state received only 58,650 tonnes of DAP from the Centre against the demand of one lakh tonne.

Balbeer Thakan, secretary, All India Kisan Sabha, Bhiwani, told NewsClick that the crisis stemmed from the fact that the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government closed all six fertiliser factories in the country because it found that it was cheaper to import fertiliser than to produce it domestically.

“So, it is entirely bureaucratic inefficiency that they could not gauge the problem correctly even when we are entirely dependent on imports. Second, we are finding a peculiar modus operandi of this government to engage in unnecessary exercises to divert their attention from the root cause. The farmers were eagerly looking for compensation and relief for cotton and they were preparing themselves for struggle. Suddenly, we found them in queues for fertilisers,” he added.

 Citing an example, Thakan said: “Please note that a tubewell caters to 20 acres of land. If I get water today, I will get it again after 20 days because it is distributed rotationally. Second, the hours of electricity have been decreased from 8 hours to 6 hours and that too in two spells. So, the government knows our vulnerabilities and is exploiting it to keep the farmers away from movement.”