Procure fertilisers only from your own block, farmers told | Lucknow News
Lucknow: Farmers of one developmental block will no longer be allowed to take fertilizer from another block within their district. Instead, the distribution of fertilizer will be done at the level of Nyay Panchayat, the judicial body in rural areas. The measure is aimed to check duplicity and overcrowding of farmers at the fertilizer distribution centres in the ongoing Kharif season.In a communique sent to all district magistrates, commissioner, cooperatives, Yogesh Kumar said that the Multipurpose Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (MPACS) are required to distribute fertilizers to farmers of respective gram panchayats coming in the jurisdiction of the Nyay Panchayats. There are 8,135 Nyay Panchayats overseeing around 5,2000 gram panchayats across the state. According to officials, farmers were earlier moving across blocks to procure fertilizers, causing overcrowding at distribution centres, duplication of entries (same farmer trying to procure multiple times), and uneven access. Reports of fertilizer shortages during the ongoing Kharif season intensified the urgency. Kumar said that the measure would efficiently decentralise the fertilizer distribution system, eventually helping the farmers.The development comes days after a severe crisis around fertilizer distribution gripped the state, prompting the state govt to push in measures for the same. Kumar said that the officials of the cooperative department at the ground level have been asked to ensure adequate availability of fertilizers in the cooperative societies. Sources said that this will help the state govt fix greater accountability as smaller units are easier to monitor. The move marks the beginning of a structural shift in rural governance of farm inputs. Experts said by aligning fertilizer distribution with Nyay Panchayats, govt sought to bring administration closer to farmers while ensuring fairness.The state govt has also made it mandatory for the sharecropper to get a written agreement with the original land owner for procuring fertilizers. Earlier, multiple sharecroppers (bataidars) cultivating the same piece of land were each applying for fertilizer. This led to double or triple allocation for the same plot, and the landowner was flagged for “excess consumption.” In the middle of a fertilizer shortage, this misuse deepened the crisis and created supply distortions. Kumar said that the department has also pushed for a public address system at the fertilizer distribution centres. This, he said, would help in managing the farmers who are turning up at the centres in large numbers.
