Kanniyakumari MLA Thalavai Sundaram has urged the Kanniyakumari district administration to disclose fertilizer stock availability in cooperative societies and take action against private fertilizer dealers selling fertilizers at prices higher than those fixed by the government.

In a press statement, he said that the district has around 25,000 hectares of agricultural land, of which nearly 5,000 hectares are under paddy cultivation. In addition, farmers cultivate a variety of crops including banana, coconut, rubber, pineapple, pepper and clove.

He stated that farmers incur substantial expenses on fertilizers and pesticides to protect and improve their crops. However, despite these high input costs, the prices for the agricultural produce remain relatively low.

Mr. Thalavai Sundaram further noted that paddy farmers, in particular, face difficulties during harvest seasons, as government procurement centres often delay purchasing paddy by citing moisture content issues. This situation leads farmers without adequate storage facilities to expose their harvested paddy to rain and in some cases begin germinating. Consequently many farmers are compelled to sell their produce at lower prices to procurement centres.

Due to the widening gap between cultivation costs and the returns from agricultural produce, farmers continue to suffer significant financial losses.

Highlighting that a bag of Potash fertilizer has increased from ₹1,800 to ₹ 1,975, superphosphate fertilizer has gone up to ₹775 from ₹630, and ammonium sulphate fertilizer has increased from ₹1,000 to ₹1,400 along with increased prices of other fertilizers, Mr. Thalavai Sundaram stated that the private outlets in the district are often selling at higher prices, causing additional hardship to the farmers.

He urged the authorities to closely monitor private fertilizer outlets and take strict action against violators.