Opposition creating panic among farmers over urea shortage, says Telangana minister

Hyderabad, Aug 25 (IANS) Amid the ongoing urea shortage in Telangana, State Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao on Monday accused the opposition parties of creating panic among farmers.

In an open letter to farmers, the minister clarified that the present shortage is due to the Centre’s inefficiency and global disruptions.

“Our government, under CM Revanth Reddy, is fighting relentlessly to secure the state’s rightful allocation. Farmers should not be misled by BRS’s politically motivated agitations or the BJP’s blame game. Telangana Government assures that farmers will not be betrayed — we will fight until every bag of urea due to our farmers is supplied,” said the minister.

The minister said that opposition parties are blaming the state government and creating panic among farmers by staging protests, spreading false propaganda, and politicising the issue.

Nageswara Rao said as Agriculture Minister, he was writing the open letter to place the facts before Telangana farmers. He said that import disruptions due to global geopolitical developments led to a urea shortage.

Telangana was allocated 3.94 lakh tonnes of imported urea by the Centre for April-August 2025. Due to Russia–Ukraine war, Iran–Israel conflict, and shipping disruptions in the Red Sea, much of the allocated stock did not arrive, he explained. Out of 3.96 lakh tonnes allocated, only 2.10 lakh tonnes have been supplied so far.

The minister also cited domestic production issues as another reason for the urea shortage. The Centre mainly allocated domestic urea from Ramagundam Fertiliser Corporation Ltd (RFCL) to Telangana. Out of 1.69 lakh tonnes allocated, only 1.06 lakh tonnes have been supplied till August. RFCL has faced a shutdown for 78 days since May, causing a 62,000-tonne shortfall.

These two factors — import delays and domestic underproduction — created a nationwide urea shortage, not just in Telangana. Even BJP-ruled states like Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are facing protests, explained the minister.

For Kharif 2025, the total urea allocation by the Centre for Telangana was 9.80 lakh tonnes. Till August, 8.30 lakh tonnes were allocated, but only 5.72 lakh tonnes were supplied, leaving a shortfall of 2.58 lakh tonnes. “Thus, the shortage is mainly due to the Centre’s failure in timely imports and inadequate supply from RFCL,” he said.

Nageswara Rao said that BJP leaders in Telangana are hiding facts and blaming the State Government, while even BJP-ruled states are struggling. BRS is staging “drama protests” — making farmers stand in queues with slippers, staging birthday-event skits, distributing fake urea bags, and spreading falsehoods on social media to defame the government led by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. These theatrics don’t help farmers but deepen their distress, he added.

The agriculture minister gave details of the steps taken by the State Government to tackle the situation. Anticipating import disruptions, the state repeatedly requested the Centre to allocate more domestic urea instead of import-dependent stocks. It wrote 7 letters to the Centre, with CM Revanth Reddy himself raising the issue with the Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers.

Telangana MPs protested in Delhi and met Union Ministers. Due to this pressure, the Centre promised 50,000 tonnes, of which 35,000 tonnes have just arrived.

Suggesting alternatives and long-term solutions, he said the Nano Urea usage should be encouraged as it is eco-friendly, cost-effective, and soil-friendly. He said the price gap between urea and complex fertilisers should be reduced (currently Rs 250 per urea bag vs. Rs 1,500+ for complex fertilisers). This will balance usage and reduce over-dependence on urea.

He demanded the Centre to strengthen domestic urea production to match national demand.

--IANS

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