Distribution of urea to cultivated lands: Telangana government

To prevent urea shortages and curb black-marketing during the Rabi (Yasangi) season, the Agriculture Department has decided to distribute urea strictly based on the actual area cultivated by farmers. Officials are currently collecting land and crop details from pattadar passbooks to calculate district-wise requirements.

In past seasons, excessive and uncontrolled usage led to severe scarcity, forcing many farmers to buy urea on the black market at prices nearly ₹150 higher per bag. Small, marginal, and tenant farmers suffered the most, as bulk buyers cornered the stock at Rythu Vedikas.

Due to repeated protests by farmers at agriculture offices over non-availability of urea, the department is now preparing an advance supply plan to avoid a crisis this season. Urea will be allotted only as per the paddy area recorded.

The State Government has requested 10.40 lakh metric tonnes of urea from the Centre for this season and sought a monthly supply of 2 lakh metric tonnes. However, officials say only half of the allocation for the last two months has been received so far. The State has urged the Union Chemicals Department to expedite the remaining stocks, warning that delays may trigger farmer unrest.

To prevent excess procurement, the government is developing a special mobile application to ensure farmers do not purchase more urea than the area cultivated. POS machines linked with Aadhaar are already being used to monitor real-time urea sales. Officials say that those attempting to divert urea for black-market sales will be easily identified.

Crackdown on Illegal Fertilizer Trade

Private fertilizer shops used to create artificial scarcity during peak seasons, selling urea at inflated prices. Middlemen often stood in queues posing as farmers to buy and resell bags to traders with the support of some corrupt officials. With the new area-based allocation system, authorities expect such illegal profits to stop, forcing shops to sell at the printed MRP.

Current Stock Status

The Centre has allotted the requested monthly quota of 2 lakh MT for the last two months. Of this, 37,000 MT arrived in October and 25,000 MT in November. A total of 3.10 lakh MT has been supplied since October.

The State currently holds:

• 1.85 lakh MT of urea

Officials estimate that farmers may require around 6 lakh MT of urea this season based on the passbook data submitted so far. They warn that distributing all stock within a month is possible, but meeting demand for the next two months could be challenging unless supplies improve.