The government last week allowed private companies to import urea for preparation of complex fertilisers used in agriculture. Till now, such companies could only import urea for industrial use, in preparation of chemicals.

For agricultural purposes, private companies used to source urea from imports made by government canalising agents, such as Indian Potash Ltd and state trading houses MMTC and STC. Two Indian companies, Coromondal International and Zuari Industries, are allowed to import urea for agricultural purposes. Now, these companies can directly import without involving canalising agents, official sources said.

Pointing out that fiscal deficit was a cause of concern, C. Rangarajan, Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, said on Friday that action on reducing fuel and fertilizer subsidies would be taken “as early as possible.”

“I would not like to put a time frame, I can only say that action will be needed and therefore will be taken as early as possible,” he told journalists on the sidelines of an event organised at the Indian Statistical Institute here to mark the birth anniversary of its founder, P.C. Mahalanobis.

Farmers in Visakhapatnam district are being encouraged to rediscover and adopt age-old agricultural practices, give up use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, and grow organic crops, according

State-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd’s (SAIL) plans to set up a steel-cum-fertiliser complex at Sindri in Jharkhand has run into rough weather as the project is facing huge hurdles impeding its

IMD says rains are not too late to raise an alarm, predicts heavy rainfall in the north-eastern and eastern parts in next two days

New Delhi Buoyed by two straight years of bumper grain harvests, the government said on Thursday it would supply nearly 10% more quality seeds than the requirement this summer to ensure sowing doesn’t get adversely affected.

The government will supply 14.18 million quintal of quality seeds this summer, compared with the demand of 12.96 million quintal, the agriculture ministry said in a statement.

Decision on paddy procurement price soon

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Tuesday expressed the State’s strong protest against the Central policies that lead to high fertilizer prices. Replying to a calling attention motion moved by former Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Ratnakaran, he said it was wrong for the Union government to surrender its powers to fix fair and affordable prices for fertilizers. Farmers were already in dire straits.

Nearly five lakh farmers in Rajasthan stand to benefit from cooperative loan facility this year following the State Government’s decision to revise the target for disbursement of loans from Rs.5,80

The steep rise in the prices of phospatic and potassic fertilisers has hit the farmers in the state, especially the paddy cultivators, hard.

Ever since the Centre introduced the nutrient-based subsidy policy on decontrolled phospatic and potassic fertilisers in February 2011, there has been an unprecedented price rise, Desiya Karshaka Samajam general secretary Muthalamthode Mani said. He said that a bag (50 kilogram) of 10:26:26 (nitrogen ,phosphorous and potash)