Interviewtimes 
The Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik on Friday urged the Centre to ensure the state’s fertilizer supply as per its monthly requirement. He further impulsed to smoothly distribute it among farmers for the next Kharif season.
In a letter to Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Mansukh Mandaviya, the chief minister stated the fertiliser ministry had secured the supply of urea according to the requirements by the end of July. However, there are severe supply shortages of diammonium phosphate (DAP) and potassium chloride (MOP). During the current Kharif season by 31 July, total DAP availability was 69% against proportional demand with a deficit of 46,877 tonnes. Similarly, MOP supplies to the state decreased by 1,010 tonnes. 94,000 tonnes of DAP were shipped against the 1,55,000 tonnes requirement, while 48,469 tonnes of MOP against the 60,000 tonnes quota were shipped to the state by the end of July.
The Chief Minister said the demand for fertilizer in the state is huge as there has been a good monsoon after the drought that wreaked havoc on the farms.
Further, stating regarding Odisha he explained that the state suffered crop production losses in the past year due to natural disasters. He said the supply of critical inputs to the agricultural sector should meet the requirements. August-September also happens to be a time of peak demand for various fertilizers, and supply shortages during this time can affect agricultural production in the state.
