ISLAMABAD  -  The Fertilizer Review Committee (FRC) yesterday expressed complete satisfaction with the country’s current fertilizer reserves, ensuring adequate supplies of both DAP and urea for the upcoming Rabi season. The committee met under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Industries, Production, and National Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain to assess the stock position of DAP and urea fertilizers for the Rabi season 2024-25, said an official statement.

The minister highlighted the increasing demand for DAP fertilizer in the country, with a 44% surge in DAP off take. This rise in demand is attributed to the Punjab government’s Kisan Card initiative. The DAP offtake estimate for October 2024 was 215,000 tonnes, which has increased by 44% to 309,000 tonnes. This increase is mainly due to the disbursement of Rs75 billion by the government of Punjab as an interest-free loan through the Kisan Card (Rs30,000 per acre for seeds, phosphorus, and nitrogen) for 500,000 farmers, each with up to 5 acres (Rs150,000 per farmer). So far, farmers have drawn Rs 18 billion to procure fertilizer.

This initiative by the Punjab government is expected to encourage the farming community to apply more DAP for balanced fertilizer use. The trend of increased DAP off-take in October is expected to continue through November and December 2024. Rana Tanveer Hussain assured that additional fertilizer stocks are available to meet farmers’ needs, helping them achieve higher yields during the Rabi season. He emphasized that farmers’ prosperity is crucial for the country’s progress and urged provinces to take stern action against hoarding and price manipulation. The meeting was also attended by Secretary Ministry of Industries Saif Anjum, Secretary Ministry of National Food Security Ali Tahir, senior officials from the ministries of finance, commerce, food security, industries, and representatives of provincial governments and other stakeholders.