Meghalaya govt intensifies fertiliser sales checks: CM Sangma

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Shillong, Aug 27 (IANS) Meghalaya has stepped up surveillance of fertiliser sales, with the state government conducting 1,432 surprise inspections and warning that retailers found indulging in black marketing could lose their licences, Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma told the Assembly on Thursday.

The government’s enforcement drive comes alongside Meghalaya’s broader plan to reduce dependence on chemical fertilisers and eventually transition towards organic agriculture.

Sangma said the state aims to emerge as the country’s largest state in organic farming coverage and is already moving towards greater organic certification.

“We are in a transition mode,” Sangma said, stressing that the long‑term objective was to move away from chemical fertilisers altogether.

The Chief Minister was responding to a question from Voice of the People Party (VPP) president and Nongkrem MLA Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit over complaints that farmers were being asked to pay Rs 900 for a bag of SSP.

Sangma clarified that subsidised SSP was priced at Rs 800 per bag, while urea was available at Rs 266 per bag. He said the market price of SSP was around Rs 1,200, with the government providing a 25 per cent subsidy.

Agriculture Minister Timothy D. Shira said the state had deployed 129 inspectors to monitor retailers and prevent violations. Retailers must display the notified prices and upload details of every fertiliser sale to the Integrated Fertiliser Management System (iFMS).

“This makes every sale traceable,” Shira said, adding that the Directors of Agriculture and Horticulture were authorised to conduct random checks.

Sangma said strict action would follow if any retailer were found selling fertiliser illegally or at inflated rates, including cancellation of the dealer’s licence.

Shira also urged farmers facing overcharging to file complaints through the CM Connect grievance redressal system.

Responding to concerns over fertiliser diversion to other states and Bangladesh, Shira said consumption in Garo Hills was relatively low, particularly because many farmers continued to practise traditional natural farming.

Sangma said fertiliser use was being confined to notified areas and movement was being monitored through relevant portals and permits.

The government maintained that the measures aimed to protect farmers while accelerating Meghalaya’s shift towards sustainable and organic farming.

–IANS

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Witness of cousin vital in ECI-ordered probe on man in Dhaka uprising featuring as voter in Bengal

Kolkata, June 11 (IANS) The statement of a cousin is vital in the Election Commission of India (ECI)-ordered probe on man in the Bangladesh students’ uprising featuring as a registered voter in West Bengal’s Kakdwip Assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas district.

The ECI has directed the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to probe the case of the man, who was active in the uprising in Bangladesh last year, featuring as a registered voter in India.

Tapan Das, a cousin of Newton Das, the voter in question, has already told media persons that Newton had voter cards both in India and Bangladesh.

He has also told media persons that after completing his studies in West Bengal, Newton shifted to Bangladesh and was there for a long time, till he came back to Kakdwip recently.

“As far as we know, he is a voter in Bangladesh. I have no idea how he arranged an Indian EPIC card,” claimed Tapan Das, who is also a registered voter in the Kakdwip Assembly constituency.

An insider from the office of the West Bengal CEO said that the Booth Level Officer (BLO) concerned will meet Tapan Das on Wednesday and get details about Newton Das.

“Details will be sought from Tapan Das on when Newton left for Bangladesh after the completion of his studies and when he returned to Kakdwip. The cousin will be asked whether he had any knowledge of who helped Newton in getting the EPIC card. Based on his statements, further investigation in the matter will be carried on,” the CEO office insider said.

He also said that when a cousin of Newton is claiming him to be a voter of Bangladesh, reasonable doubts over the matter are bound to surface.

The controversy surfaced after some whistle-blowers highlighted the picture of Newton Das, a registered voter with Kakdwip Assembly constituency, featuring in the students’ movement in Bangladesh last year on social media.

The whistle-blowers also claimed that Das had dual citizenship of India and Bangladesh.

Newton, however, has denied the allegations of holding Bangladeshi citizenship, though he did not deny having gone to the country and participating in the students’ movement there.

According to him, he had been a voter of the Kakdwip Assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas district since 2014 and had also voted in the Lok Sabha elections that year.

He stated that he went to Bangladesh in 2024 in order to address some issues relating to his ancestral property there, and during that period, he got involved with the students’ movement there.

He also stated that in 2017 he lost the EPIC card, which was issued to him in 2014, and in 2018 he was issued a fresh card.

He also admitted that the Trinamool Congress MLA from Kakdwip, Manturam Pakhira, helped him in getting the new EPIC card.

–IANS

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Food prices to rise further globally if West Asia crisis stretches beyond 40 days: FAO

New Delhi, April 3 (IANS) World food commodity prices rose in March for the second month in a row, largely due to higher energy prices linked to the conflict escalation in West Asia, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said on Friday.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of globally-traded food commodities, averaged 128.5 points in March, up 2.4 percent from February and 1.0 percent above its level a year ago.

“Price rises since the conflict began have been modest, driven mainly by higher oil prices and cushioned by ample global cereal supplies,” said FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero.

“But if the conflict stretches beyond 40 days with high input costs with current low margins, farmers will have to choose: farm the same with fewer inputs, plant less, or switch to less intensive fertiliser crops. Those choices will hit future yields and shape our food supply and commodity prices for the rest of this year and all of the next,” Torero added.

The FAO Cereal Price Index increased by 1.5 per cent from the previous month, driven primarily by higher world wheat prices, which rose 4.3 per cent due to drought-related deterioration of crop prospects in the United States of America and expectations of reduced plantings in Australia due to higher fertiliser costs.

Global maize quotations edged up slightly, as ample global availability offset concerns over fertilizer affordability and indirect support from greater ethanol demand prospects linked to the rising energy prices.

The FAO All-Rice Price Index declined by 3.0 per cent in March, driven by harvest timing, weaker import demand, and currency depreciations against the United States dollar.

The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index increased by 5.1 per cent from February to stand 13.2 per cent higher than its year-earlier level. International quotations for palm, soy, sunflower and rapeseed oil all rose, reflecting spillover effects from the sharp increases in crude oil prices, which catalysed expectations of stronger demand for biofuels.

The FAO Meat Price Index increased by 1.0 per cent from the previous month, driven by a surge in pig meat prices in the European Union ahead of strengthening seasonal demand, along with higher world bovine meat prices, particularly in Brazil, where exportable supplies were curtailed by tightening cattle availability.

Ovine and poultry meat prices declined, partly due to logistical constraints limiting access to markets in the Near East.

The FAO Dairy Price Index increased by 1.2 per cent, and Sugar Price Index increased by 7.2 per cent in March.

Rising expectations that Brazil, the main sugar exporter, would use more sugarcane to produce ethanol to counter higher international crude oil prices overweighed a generally favourable global supply outlook for the current season, supported by good harvest progress in India and Thailand.

With most of the world’s wheat crop already planted, FAO forecasts worldwide harvests of 820 million tonnes, a 1.7 per cent drop from the previous year.

–IANS

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Tripura seeks more central funds for farmers; pushes 30,000-hectare hybrid paddy plan

Agartala, Feb 24 (IANS) Tripura Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath on Tuesday sought additional central funding for various farmer-centric projects and strongly pitched for large-scale hybrid paddy cultivation in the state.

The Minister made the demands during a financial review meeting of centrally sponsored schemes of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, held via video conference under the chairmanship of Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Nath requested facilitation for hybrid paddy cultivation over 30,000 hectares under the RKVY-DPR project in the 2026–27 financial year, stressing that paddy is cultivated on around 50 per cent of Tripura’s agricultural land and remains crucial for food security.

The Union Minister reviewed the progress of projects with 18 states, including Tripura, and expressed satisfaction with the state’s financial discipline and expenditure trends.

During the meeting, Nath informed that Tripura has utilised 79 per cent of funds received under the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY) Umbrella Scheme, 61 per cent under the Krishi Utpada Yojana Umbrella Scheme, and 61 per cent under the Natural Farming project.

He said the state aims to fully utilise the allocations in the current financial year and sought additional funds to expand farmer welfare initiatives.

“Our state is among the top five in the country in terms of expenditure,” the Minister said.

Highlighting the government’s focus on agricultural mechanisation, Nath requested an additional Rs 20 crore under the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM).

He also informed that the process of issuing Farm IDs is underway and sought facilitation for issuing IDs to over 1.25 lakh tribal farmers who are RoFR patta holders.

Noting that nearly 96 per cent of farmers in the state are small and marginal, Nath urged an upward revision of cost norms under schemes such as RKVY, the National Food Security Mission, and the National Mission on Oil Palm to better support paddy cultivation and allied activities.

The Union Agriculture Minister accepted the validity of the demands and assured that necessary steps would be taken to sanction funds at the earliest. Secretary of the department Apurba Roy, Director Phanibhushan Jamatia, and other senior officials attended the meeting.

–IANS

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