Centre extends subsidy on DAP fertiliser to ensure availability for farmers
The move is aimed at preventing a surge in farmgate prices due to the recent depreciation of the rupee against the United States dollar.
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The Union government on Wednesday extended by one year a special subsidy of Rs 3,500 per ton on diammonium phosphate, India’s second-most consumed agricultural fertiliser.
The subsidy package lapsed on December 31, 2024. The estimated budget to renew the scheme for a year is Rs 3,850 crore.
Farmers use DAP in the early stages of root establishment and crop development, applying it while planting seeds.
The Centre’s move aims to prevent a rise in farmgate prices due to the recent depreciation of the rupee against the United States dollar, reported The Indian Express. Farmgate price is the price a farmer receives for selling their crops at the farm at the time of harvest.
“[The Union Cabinet] has approved the extension of the one-time special package on diammonium phosphate (DAP) till December 31, 2025,” Union Minister for Rural Development, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan said. “The aim is to ensure that DAP remains affordable for farmers.”
To keep fertiliser prices in check, the National Democratic Alliance government has effectively frozen the maximum retail prices of all non-urea fertilisers despite them being “decontrolled” on paper.
This is unlike urea, which has had a fixed retail price of Rs 266.50 for a 45-kilogram bag since November 2012, according to The Indian Express.
Companies are not allowed to charge more than...
