Indian farmers in pain as soaring prices create fertilizer black market

Supply crunch will likely hurt production of staple crops such as wheat, rapeseed and pulses planted during the winter.

Indian farmers squeezed by a massive shortage of fertilizers are turning to the black market and paying exorbitant prices for supplies. The shortfall has led to a thriving market where subsidized crop nutrients are sold illegally at prices much higher than levels set by the government. Shady agents have been busy fielding requests from farmers who call them in desperate need. With a key planting season underway for India’s millions households that depend on agriculture for a living, farmers say they don’t have much of a choice.

We either have to cut the use of fertilizers and risk lower production, or pay sky-high prices on the black market, said Dilip Patidar, a wheat and onion grower in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Either option isn’t great. A drop in crop yields could drive food prices higher, worsening inflation in a country where 15% of the population faces hunger. Paying high prices on the black market will hurt the incomes of small and marginal farmers, which make up more than 80% of India’s agricultural sector….Read More

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