M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, July 29: The drought-like situation in Palamu has not only affected the farmers and the agri-labourers but has also adversely affected the stockists and the retailers of the seeds and fertilisers.
Bags of paddy seeds and fertilisers are not being bought like before. Farmers’ footfall in the seeds and fertilisers shops has gone down considerably. Farmers are waiting for rain before buying even a single bag of seeds and fertilisers.
A noted stockist of the seeds and fertilisers in Daltonganj Purushottam Prasad Agrawal said the drought-like situation here has turned the market upside down. The upward mobility of the market is restricted and market rotation is sluggish.
There is a straight decline in the sale and purchase of seeds and fertilisers by 25 to 30 percent this season here and there is hardly any hope of any overcome of the decline.
The retailers are more at the receiving end as their loss in the sale of seeds and fertilisers is around 40 percent.
“We have been asked by the government now not to sell any variety of paddy which gives yield after 120 days,” Purushottam Prasad Agrawal said.
Another wholesale dealer of the seeds and fertilisers Nilesh Chandra said seeds and fertilisers shops do seasonal business and this season it is all dry. “Our future is dark this season,” he said.
“Our unsold bags are stashed in the godowns and we are to pay the rent of the godowns which at this time is very taxing,” he added.
The golden period of paddy growing, June 15 to July 25, is wasted due to no rain.
Asked if unsold seeds and fertilisers can be stored in cold storage to be used next season, Nilesh Chandra said this will not work as they lose their efficacy faster. There will be germination problems with seeds that are preserved in cold storage.
Sources said some companies accept the return of unsold seeds and fertilisers but the majority of them don’t do it.
There is a variety of paddy called O P Dhaan. Its unsold bags are not accepted as any return.
A retailer said, “We sell such unsold seeds at an all-time low price to reduce the burden of loans etc.”
