Former Odisha’s Chief Minister and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik, on Saturday, sought the Centre’s intervention to address the problem of shortage of fertiliser during the current kharif season in the state. Patnaik’s letter to Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers J.P. Nadda came amidst resentment among farmers over alleged scarcity of fertilisers in the state.
Recently, farmers resorted to protest to press their demand for adequate supply of fertilisers in southern Odisha districts, including Malkangiri, Ganjam and Nabarangpur.
The farmers’ protest in Malkangiri led to the disruption of traffic movement on the National Highway-326 on Friday.
In his letter dated August 29, Patnaik urged Nadda to ensure the adequate supply of urea to Odisha in the “interest of the farming community.”
Highlighting that agriculture is the “mainstay of Odisha’s economy,” which provides livelihood to more than 70 per cent of its population, the BJD supremo said, “In the past two decades, Odisha’s growth in the agricultural sector has been spectacular. From a mere importer of rice, Odisha has transformed itself into a major contributor to the country’s Public Distribution System.”
“This has become possible because of the use of technology and adequate supply of input,” he added.
Stressing the importance of uninterrupted fertiliser supply, Patnaik stated, “Fertiliser being a major input to agriculture production, its smooth supply is very crucial for crop growth during Kharif. The farmers of Odisha are now facing a major problem in obtaining urea during this ongoing Kharif season.”
Patnaik expressed concern over the crisis, stating, “Short supply of urea along with its black marketing and adulteration is a major concern for our farmers now at the start of the Kharif season. In many districts, particularly in tribal regions, the farmers are on an agitation path due to the non-availability of urea. If not addressed timely, it may cause serious disruption of farm activities which will impact production and also affect the livelihood of farmers.”
He also questioned the Odisha government’s handling of the situation, pointing out that although it claims to have 7.94 lakh tonnes of urea, farmers continue to face shortages.
“Urea is being sold illegally at a higher price than the government-approved rate across Odisha,” Patnaik alleged.
Patnaik flagged concerned over the alleged irregularities in distribution. “MARKFED, the government’s designated distribution agency, is supplying subsidised fertilisers to private traders instead of farmers. Despite lower fertiliser use in Odisha, supply chain mismanagement and corruption have pushed our farmers to the edge,” he said.
Naveen Patnaik also raised concern over the delay in the Talcher fertiliser plant. “The foundation stone was laid in 2018, and it was promised to be functional in 36 months. But seven years later, it still remains non-operational,” he said.
ଚାଷ ସମୟରେ ସାର ନ ପାଇ ଓଡ଼ିଶାର ଚାଷୀମାନେ ହନ୍ତସନ୍ତ ହେଉଛନ୍ତି । ବିଭିନ୍ନ ସ୍ଥାନରେ ବିଶେଷ କରି ଆଦିବାସୀ ବହୁଳ ଜିଲ୍ଲାରେ ସାର ସମସ୍ୟା ଉତ୍କଟ ହୋଇଛି। ସାର ପାଇଁ ଚାଷୀ ଆଜି ରାସ୍ତାରେ ।
ସାର ଯୋଗାଣରେ ବ୍ୟାପକ ଅବ୍ୟବସ୍ଥା, କଳାବଜାର, ଅପମିଶ୍ରଣ ସହ ବଜାରରେ ୟୁରିଆର ଅଭାବ ଦେଖାଦେବା ନେଇ କେନ୍ଦ୍ର ରସାୟନ ଓ ସାର ମନ୍ତ୍ରୀ ଶ୍ରୀ… pic.twitter.com/2m1kT3vGJJ
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) August 30, 2025
Calling for strict measures, he suggested, “Need of the hour is immediate crackdown on black marketing and punishment of guilty dealers and officials associated with fertiliser distribution through cooperative societies.”
In this context, Patnaik said, “I would like to request you to take necessary steps for adequate supply of urea to Odisha during this Kharif season in the larger interest of the farming community.”
However, Odisha’s Food and Supplies Minister K C Patra critised Patnaik for writing the letter to the Centre and demanding more fertilisers for the state.
“There is no scarcity of fertilisers in the state,” Patra said.
Recalling how Patnaik had written a letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee last year when there was irregularity in potato supply from the eastern state, he said, “Everybody knows what happened to his letter to WB Chief Minister. Now, there is no need to write a letter to the Centre for fertilisers.”
Patra further claimed that farmers are satisfied with the BJP government, which hiked the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy to Rs 3,100 per quintal.
“Farmers who stopped cultivation during BJD government, now see a future in farming under the Mohan Charan Majhi government,” he claimed.
Hundreds of farmers in Malkangiri gathered at Mathili Large Area Multipurpose Cooperative Society for fertilisers, leading to traffic disruptions on the National Highway-326 on Friday, police said.
While only 1,200 bags of fertilisers were available at the LAMPS centre, the number of farmers was around 10 times, local officials said.
The distribution was held through a token system, which allowed one farmer to get just one bag of urea, which they alleged was “grossly inadequate” to their requirement.
The farmers also alleged that the majority of the government supply was diverted to the black market.
Odisha’s Deputy Chief Minister KV Deo, who is in charge of the agriculture and farmer empowerment department, said stringent action would be taken against dealers found indulging in black marketing of fertilisers.
Meanwhile, senior BJD leader and state’s former agriculture minister Arun Kumar Sahoo warned the state’s BJP government that the BJD party would launch a state-wide agitation if the fertiliser scarcity is not met immediately.
“BJD will not tolerate negligence to farmers. This is because, the BJD government during its tenure ensured Odisha emerge as a rice surplus state,” Sahoo said.
