Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Urea price decontrol: Small farmers will suffer the most, says T Haque, Former Chairman, CACP

Urea price decontrol: Small farmers will suffer the most, says T Haque, Former Chairman, CACP

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Apr 11, 2012   modified Modified on Apr 11, 2012
-The Economic Times
 
Decontrol of urea is likely to affect agricultural production adversely for several reasons. First, it will immediately push up prices of all nitrogenous fertilisers and reduce their usage, thereby lowering crop yields. 

Second, it may also lead to increase in the prices of DAP and other mixed fertilisers due to shift in demand in their favour. Urea decontrol may not result in more balanced use of N, P and K fertilisers, as is normally argued, given that prices could surge for all nutrients. Farm profitability will, hence, decline further. 

Small farmers, more so in eastern India, will suffer the most as urea decontrol will dampen their capacity and incentive to improve crop yields. The fact is, there are huge untapped yield gaps in the east and the level of fertiliser use is quite low, now. 

Besides, our domestic production system of both nitrogenous and phosphatic fertilisers has been crippled recently due to wrong policies and bad management, resulting in greater dependence on imported fertilisers. But prices as well as availability of fertilisers in the international market - that are linked to crude prices - are erratic and this could lead to adverse fertiliser use. 

Besides, when a large country like India imports large quantities of chemical fertilisers, international prices will tend to skyrocket. This was our experience in the mid-1970s and will recur in the future if domestic production does not improve. 

The current move to decontrol urea price is intended to reduce fertiliser subsidy rather than improve domestic fertiliser production or efficient use of fertiliser. Even the much-talked about nutrient-based subsidy or direct payment of fertiliser subsidy to farmers would be irrelevant in the wake of decontrol of urea. In fact, government should have chosen to reduce fertiliser subsidy by improving managerial efficiency at the production sites as well as in the government department that monitors and interferes with proper functioning of various fertiliser producing units in the country. 

Moreover, as experience shows, there are several bottlenecks in the transportation of fertiliser from port to demand destinations and effective delivery of imported fertilisers to farmers at reasonable prices will remain a cause for concern. 

The Economic Times, 11 April, 2012, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/et-debate/urea-price-decontrol-small-farmers-will-suffer-the-most-says-t-haque-former-chairman-cacp/articleshow/12616102


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close