Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan recently chaired a meeting focusing on bolstering fertilizer supplies and combating black marketing amidst the Middle East conflict. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare highlighted the need for preparedness for the upcoming Kharif season during the session. Singh stressed the importance of ensuring a fair and uninterrupted fertilizer supply chain, urging officials to expedite the implementation of ‘Farmer IDs’ for transparent distribution.
Instructions were given to crack down on black marketing and hoarding of fertilizers and seeds to prevent exploitation of the global crisis. Chouhan also mentioned plans to encourage state governments to take stringent actions in this regard. The meeting assessed the availability of agro-chemicals and essential gases for Drying Seed, with a focus on ensuring sufficient packaging materials for agricultural products, particularly milk, amid the ongoing global crisis.
A ‘Special Cell’ was established to monitor the agricultural sector round-the-clock, providing weekly reports on fertilizer, seed, and pesticide availability to the Union Agriculture Minister. Chouhan urged senior officials to play an active role during crises and reiterated the government’s commitment to timely agricultural resource delivery. Earlier, Chouhan highlighted a 44% increase in agricultural production over the past decade and the doubling of many farmers’ incomes, emphasizing the government’s efforts to boost farmers’ productivity and income through initiatives like record procurement at Minimum Support Price.
