Guwahati, Mar 1: Four years after the Government of Assam abolished private wholesalers from the urea supply chain, the restructured distribution system continues to face serious challenges, with farmers and small retailers in Dhubri reportedly bearing the brunt.
In 2022, the state government shifted urea management to the Assam State Agricultural Marketing Board through a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) aimed at ensuring transparency and safeguarding farmers’ interests. Under the revised framework, major fertilizer suppliers such as Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Limited, Matrix Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited and Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Limited supply urea either to the State Marketing Board or directly to designated retailers.
However, concerns have surfaced over disproportionate allocations and limited district-level oversight. The District Agriculture Department has minimal involvement in direct retailer distribution, a gap critics argue weakens grassroots monitoring.
Official data indicates that Dhubri district, with more than 400 retailers, consistently receives higher urea allocations than several agriculturally more advanced districts. Nearly 20 per cent of retailers in the district reportedly deal exclusively in urea, despite regulations requiring licensed agri-input shops to maintain a balanced stock of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides.
Retailers are frequently accused of selling urea above the government-fixed price. However, many shopkeepers contend that company-level practices contribute to pricing irregularities. Local distributors allege that companies rarely supply urea independently and often bundle it with additional products such as Nano Urea, bio-fertilizers and secondary nutrients.
According to retailers, failure to purchase these “supported” products can result in denial of their urea quota. The alleged forced bundling raises operational costs, prompting some traders to pass on the added burden to farmers. While the Marketing Board’s distribution mechanism is viewed as relatively neutral, parallel direct-to-retailer supplies by certain companies are said to disadvantage smaller shopkeepers.
Amid periodic shortages, stakeholders have urged the state government to tighten regulation of company-level stock allocation and ensure that urea supply is not made conditional on the purchase of other products. Observers warn that without corrective measures, the 2022 reforms risk being undermined, leaving farmers to shoulder the consequences.
