Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh Tenant Farmers Association has accused the state government of failing to address a severe urea shortage, which has left farmers in a state of crisis.

In a statement to the media, Y Radhakrishna, president, and Maganti Haribabu, general secretary of the association demanded that the government stop “false propaganda” and immediately provide urea to farmers.

Haribabu stated that despite farmers lining up for hours from early morning, they are only receiving one bag of urea, which is far from sufficient for their needs. He asserted that the government is fully responsible for the crisis and is attempting to deflect blame by making misleading statements. He claimed the state government has failed to secure an adequate supply of urea from the Central government. He further alleged that the BJP-led Central government is trying to evade fertilizer subsidies and is forcing farmers to use nano urea instead.

The shortage is particularly severe in the Krishna district, with farmers in mandals such as Pamarrru, Avaniagadda, Movva, Koduru, Gannavaram, Vuyyuru, and Unguturu facing significant hardships. Haribabu alleged that urea intended for cooperative societies is being illegally diverted to private individuals and sold on the black market at exorbitant prices. While the official price of one bag of urea is Rs 266, farmers are forced to buy it from private sellers for an additional Rs 400 to Rs 500.

In one instance in China Mutthevi village of Movva mandal, locals stopped a lorry at midnight, suspecting it was illegally diverting a urea shipment away from the cooperative society. Farmers staged a protest on the road, prompting senior police officials to intervene and assure them of a fair resolution. The police seized the lorry and moved it to the station.

Haribabu claimed that similar diversions are occurring in many parts of the state, including Krishna, NTR district, Rayalaseema districts, Srikakulam, and Vizianagaram. He criticised the government for giving contradictory statements—at times denying a shortage, and at other times acknowledging that supplies are being diverted or hoarded.

He questioned what the vigilance authorities and police were doing while urea was being diverted and sold at high prices. “While farmers are queuing up everywhere for urea, is the government asleep,” he asked. Haribabu urged the government to act with honesty and integrity, mitigate the urea shortage, and save the crops. He demanded that the government set up monitoring cells with farmers at every cooperative society to ensure that the fertilizer is distributed properly.