Vijayawada: Agriculture minister K Atchannaidu asserted that the state government is ensuring complete transparency in the supply and distribution of urea across the state. He said the government has taken adequate steps to prevent any shortage and ensure that farmers receive fertilizers on time without inconvenience.

In a statement on Thursday, the minister dismissed as “baseless and politically motivated” the allegations that an artificial scarcity was being created to divert urea to the black market. He said vigilance and revenue officials are conducting continuous inspections to ensure urea is available at affordable prices in the open market.

According to him, compared to the previous YSRCP government, the present coalition government has distributed 48,478 metric tonnes more urea through Markfed. While the earlier regime weakened fertilizer distribution through Markfed societies, the coalition government has strengthened it, increasing the Markfed-to-private distribution ratio from 50:50 to 70:30.

“This year alone (2025–26), till the end of August, we supplied 2,04,096 metric tonnes of urea, compared to the YSRCP’s three-year average of only 1,55,617 metric tonnes. That is a 31 per cent increase,” he said.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, he added, has personally taken up the matter with the Centre, ensuring that Andhra Pradesh received a higher allocation of urea than many other states, even during difficult circumstances. “So far, farmers have used 87,880 metric tonnes more urea than last year,” Atchannaidu said, stressing that not a single farmer is left without supply.

Dismissing opposition criticism, the minister said farmers themselves are maintaining discipline while collecting fertilizers in queues, contrary to the propaganda of chaos spread by YSRCP leaders.

On farmer welfare, Atchannaidu said that under the Annadatha Sukhibhava and PM-Kisan schemes, every eligible farmer family is entitled to Rs 20,000 per year in support. Already, Rs 7,000 has been credited as the first instalment. A grievance module was opened on the Annadatha Sukhibhava portal in August, enabling farmers to register complaints. After verification, 36,722 farmers were recognized as eligible, while those who completed e-KYC and NPCI activation were also included.

For the farmers who were found eligible after verification, the government released Rs 23.58 crore to 47,161 farmers on Thursday, September 4, crediting Rs 5,000 each as the first instalment.

The minister reiterated that farmer welfare and transparent governance remain the top priorities of the coalition government.