'Exploring options to pay ferti subsidy directly to farmers'

Government is exploring the possibilities of transferring the fertiliser subsidy directly to farmers, Parliament was informed today.
Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said that in 2014-15 urea consumption was 155.90 kg per hectare, DAP was 38.84 kg per hectare, MOP was 14.53 kg per hectare and Complex fertilisers was 42.16 kg per hectare.
"The Department of Fertilizers is exploring possibilities of transferring the fertilizer subsidy directly to the farmers," Ahir said in the reply.
Sharing data about the subsidy released so far, the minister said that Rs 34,863.97 crore has been paid on account of indigenous urea, Rs 10,158.90 crore on imported urea, Rs 8,998.730 crore on indigenous P&K fertilisers and Rs 6,257.58 crore on imported P&K fertilisers.

Urea is provided to farmers at a statutory price of Rs 5,360 per tonne (plus sales tax and other local taxes wherever levied) plus a maximum of 5 per cent of the statutory price for neem coating urea.
The MRP of urea is much below the actual delivered cost. The difference of delivered price and MRP is paid as subsidy to the urea manufacturer/importer by the government.
The MRP along with the subsidy provided on these fertilizers is printed on each bag of these fertilizers and the farmer, who purchases these fertilizers, gets the benefit of subsidy as the subsidy on fertilizers is provided to farmers irrespective of their landholding and economic status.