Fertiliser shortage grips Sindh during sowing season

Growers warn of wheat shortage, food insecurity unless swift action is taken

KARACHI:

Distressed growers in Sindh are grappling with a severe shortage of fertilisers, significantly impacting wheat sowing and vegetable cultivation. The scarcity, if not promptly addressed, could escalate into a looming threat to food security, warn dismayed farmers. Growers are urging authorities to take immediate action to ensure the uninterrupted availability of fertilisers in local markets.

The issue gained prominence when the government’s intervention led to a surge in prices and rampant black marketing of Urea and Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) fertilisers.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) President, Syed Mehmood Nawaz Shah, emphasised the government’s primary responsibility to control fertiliser black marketing, combat hoarding, and guarantee availability.

“The fertiliser shortage, if left unaddressed, could lead to severe food insecurity. Despite receiving subsidised gas, fertiliser companies have autonomously determined their prices, resulting in a continuous surge in fertiliser rates for the year and a half. This escalation is primarily attributed to inherent flaws in the system, which is unduly burdening impoverished growers and fostering an artificial shortage,” lamented Shah.

The SAB president expressed alarm that an overcharge of just Rs1,000 per 50-kg bag of fertiliser could result in swindling peasants of over Rs130 billion annually. He pointed out that the system is designed to overcharge farmers.

Shah identified four fertiliser companies, including Fauji Fertiliser Company Limited (FFCL), Engro Fertilisers Limited (EFL), Fatima Fertiliser Company Limited (FFCL), and Pakarab Fertilisers Limited (PAFL). The inflated prices were illustrated with examples: Urea-P and Urea-G of FFCL, priced at Rs3,600 and Rs3,800 per 50kg bag respectively, are being sold at Rs6,000 and Rs6,200 per 50kg sack. Urea from EFL is being sold at Rs5,800 per 50kg instead of Rs3,460 per 50kg. DAP from FFCL is being sold at Rs15,000-Rs15,500 per 50kg bag instead of the company’s price at Rs12,800.

The shortage and price hikes are particularly detrimental to wheat crops, which require two-to-three applications of Urea and one DAP during the sowing season – which starts in November and ends in January. With only one month left in the season, the scarcity and increased prices are expected to significantly impact crop yields.

Read ‘Non-stop winter flow of gas to fertiliser sector’

Despite complaints and protests from growers, the Sindh government and its relevant departments, including the Sindh Agriculture Extension, and other law enforcement agencies including the police, Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) among others, have been ineffective in controlling the skyrocketing prices. Growers lament the lack of penalties for overcharging, signalling a failure of various concerned departments to address black marketing, shortage, and overpricing.

Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) Senior Vice President, Nabi Bux Sathio, expressed his disappointment saying, “It is really sad that the price of fertilisers is able to skyrocket without any control. Not a single dealer is penalised or jailed for overcharging. It seems that all the concerned departments have a share in the hiked price and don’t want to take action against black marketing, shortage and overcharging.”

Sathio emphasised that while the country produces 6.5 million tonnes of Urea, fulfilling a local demand of 6.2 million tonnes, there is an unexplained shortage. Growers are now turning to the Sindh High Court for relief, expressing dissatisfaction with the inaction of government officials.

President of the Small Growers Organisation, Sindh Agriculture Research Council (SARC), Advocate Ali Palh, criticised the ineptitude of government officials, stating that their lack of action will undoubtedly lead to severe food insecurity. “Deputy commissioners, assistant commissioners in every district of the province, and the staff of the Sindh Agriculture Department have been inactive in providing relief to farmers. This governmental inefficiency is likely to result in severe food insecurity, particularly affecting wheat sowing and vegetable cultivation, which commenced in November and has been significantly hampered due to the shortage of fertilisers.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Secretary of Agriculture in Sindh, Syed Aijaz Ali Shah said, “Today, I wrote a letter to the secretary of the Ministry of Industries and Production in Islamabad regarding the urea shortage in Sindh. The province is currently experiencing a severe shortage of urea fertiliser, especially during peak months from December to March, when urea fertiliser is not supplied according to the agronomic demand of the province.

The Sindh government strongly urges an increase in the province’s quota in local production to at least 40% of the total production. This request is based on the fact that the gas consumed for national urea production is mostly supplied by Sindh. It would be unjust for Sindh, where gas is supplied and urea is produced, to suffer from a severe shortage of urea. Therefore, I once again request an increase in the supply to the province to avert the urea crisis.”

A copy of the letter is available with The Express Tribune.

Addressing the issue of price hikes due to black marketing, the agriculture secretary mentioned that advisory committees at the provincial and district levels have been formed to tackle the crisis.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 26^th, 2023.

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