Why is India facing a fertilizer crisis this kharif season
India is dealing with a major fertilizer crunch this kharif season, especially when it comes to urea.
With good monsoon rains, farmers are planting more rice and maize, but urea stocks have dropped by over half since August 1.
Imports—mainly from China, though not exclusively—are also way down, leaving big states like Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka struggling to keep up with demand.
What can be done to fix the situation?
A lot of India's fertilizer supply depends on imports: about 60% of DAP and much of the natural gas needed for urea come from abroad.
Strict price controls and subsidies aren't helping either.
Experts say switching to direct benefit transfers (DBT)—where farmers get subsidy money straight into their accounts—could make things smoother.
There's also talk about loosening regulations in the sector to bring in more investment and new ideas for the future.