THE DAP GAP

Is the DAP shortage real? Can it be mitigated?

- SANJEEB MUKHERJEE

Wheat and potato farmers across the northern belt of the country are in a bind. The ongoing shortage of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), among other problems, has doubled their cost of inputs.

As supplies of DAP have got squeezed, more and more growers are opting for complexes – mainly combinations of nitrogen, phosphorus, potash, and sulphur (NPKS) in various grades. The alternatives are being explored to ensure the sowing time for rabi crops does not pass them by as they wait for their bag of DAP.

However, a bag of NPKS is not the ideal replacement for DAP. A 50-kg bag of DAP contains 46 per cent phosphorus and 18 per cent nitrogen. On the other hand, a bag of the most common grade of NPKS (20:20:0:13) has only 20 per cent phosphorus.

"This means farmers have to apply two bags of NPKS, which straightaway means doubling of the expenditure on inputs, as both the plant nutrients are priced almost equally," Ram Inaniya, a farmer leader and member of the Aam Kisan Union in Madhya Pradesh, tells Business Standard.

This also means that the final wheat price will have to cover for the increased input cost. "DAP is available in Madhya Pradesh, but only in select districts and outlets. In most places it is totally out of stock and farmers have to stand in long queues for hours to get hold of even one bag," Inaniya says.

In some places, dealers are selling DAP in black at almost double the rate.

Critical input, crucial time

DAP is the second most widely used fertiliser in the country after urea. More than 75 per cent of India's annual DAP consumption happens during the rabi season, in the months of October and December, for crops such as wheat and potato.