APMarkfed upbeat on agri inputs supply this kharif

The Andhra Pradesh State Cooperative Marketing Federation (AP Markfed) is adopting a cluster approach to ensure timely supply of agricultural inputs to the farmers at their doorstep during the ensuing kharif season.

We will be creating around 2,000 clusters, each comprising four villages, for supplying agri inputs like urea, complex fertilisers and seeds during this kharif. We have already paid Rs 15 crore in advance to fertiliser companies like Godavari and Iffco towards procurement of 20,000 metric tonne inputs from them," Ponnam Prabhakar, chairman of APMarkfed, told Business Standard.

The federation intends to double the supply of fertilisers and zinc sulphate this year, as against 40,306 metric tonne of fertilisers valued at around Rs 182 crore and 30,622 metric tonne of zinc gypsum valued at Rs 14.35 crore last year. The total demand for urea and complex fertilisers in the state for the kharif season is pegged at 25 lakh metric tonne.

For the first time, APMarkfed will also distribute around 75,000 metric tonne of ground nut seed in three districts - Anantapur, Kurnool and Kadapa - during the 2007 kharif.

The federation will leverage on the well-knit network of 2,900 primary agricultural cooperative societies (PACS), district cooperative marketing societies (DCMS) and the Indira Kranti Pathams (IKPs), covering over 5.5 lakh farmers across the state, for the distribution of these agri inputs.

"Besides, we have decided to market vermi compost, neem cake, neem oil, chillies powder and cattle feed mixture (pellets) under our 'Vijaya' and 'Nandi' brands from this year. For this, we will be setting up two more cattle feed mixing plants in Karimnagar and coastal Andhra. We are currently preparing a feasibility report for the project. Each of the plants would entail an investment of around Rs 20 crore, funds for which would be raised through the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), debt and internal accruals," he said.

The federation currently has one cattle feed mixing plant at Nandyal with a 22,909 metric tonne capacity. The plant clocked a net profit of Rs 17.35 lakh on a turnover of Rs 11.49 crore during the financial year ended March 31, 2007. With the addition of the new plants, Markfed's cattle feed mixing capacity would go up to around 60,000 metric tonne per year.

According to Prabhakar, the federation is also on the verge of signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Kerala Civil Supplies Corporation for the supply of red chillies, paddy, rice and various pulses on a continuous and long-term basis. "A joint committee has been formed for fixing the prices, and we expect the agreement to be signed in a month," he added.