Farmers in the Nangal area of Ropar district are alleging a shortage of urea and DAP fertilisers. The farmers gathered at the office of the National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) unit in Nangal on Tuesday and submitted a memorandum outlining their demands to the unit’s General Manager.The farmers alleged that the wheat sowing season had begun, driving up demand for urea and DAP. They said that although farmers were seeking these fertilisers, private dealers were claiming that the products were unavailable.They further alleged that wherever fertilisers were available, sellers were forcing farmers to purchase additional products along with them. The farmers claimed that they were not only struggling to obtain fertilisers but were also being forced to pay extra for whatever supplies they could procure.Tikka Yashwir Chand, a farmer leader who led the delegation to the NFL office in Nangal, said it was appalling that farmers faced a fertiliser shortage despite a fertiliser manufacturing plant in their area.“We have requested the NFL authorities to open a retail outlet in the Nangal area so that farmers can directly purchase urea from the NFL unit,” he said.Tikka said that the farmers had, for the time being, submitted only a memorandum. However, he warned that they could resort to agitation if their demands were not met.When contacted, BB Grover, Chief General Manager of the NFL unit in Nangal, said there was no shortage of urea. He said the Nangal plant was producing urea at its optimum capacity and that supplies were being sent to the market.However, he clarified that since NFL does not manufacture DAP fertiliser, it had no control over its supply. Regarding the farmers’ demand that the NFL unit sell urea directly to farmers in the surrounding areas through its own outlets, Grover said the decision would have to be taken by NFL’s marketing wing.The farmers are also approaching local politicians, highlighting the shortage of urea and DAP fertilisers, which are required during the wheat sowing season.Sources said NFL supplies around 60 per cent of Punjab’s allocated urea quota to Markfed, the government cooperative that further distributes the fertiliser to farmers through registered cooperative societies. The remaining 40 per cent is sold through private dealers.According to reports, fertiliser distributors have been bundling a range of supplementary products, including calcium nitrate, polyhalite, bio-potash, MOP, sulphur and city compost, with the sale of urea and DAP fertilisers. This practice has increased farmers’ overall expenditure, as they allegedly have little choice but to purchase these bundled products if they want to secure the fertilisers required for their crops.India currently imports about 30 per cent of its urea requirements and nearly 100 per cent of its DAP requirements from other countries. With the Rabi sowing season underway, global market prices have risen sharply, putting additional pressure on the Indian government’s fertiliser subsidy budget.The Government of India provides a subsidy of around Rs 1,000 on each bag of domestically produced urea, while the cost of imported fertilisers has also risen substantially. To protect their profit margins, fertiliser companies are reportedly encouraging distributors to purchase additional products, such as bio-enhancers and soil supplements, along with heavily subsidised fertilisers that are in high demand among farmers.