Recolección de la colza

porations. Arrangements for distribution vary from state to state*

Until the lifting of controls of fertiliser prices in 1967» c0“

operatives had the monopoly in the distribution of fertilisers in Andhra Pradesh, accounting for 66 per cent of the total amount distributed, ^ In West Godavary, too, cooperatives accounted for 66 per cent of the total amount distributed, the Agricultural Department and other official sources accounting for 16 per cent and 18 per cent respectively. 2 The organisation

of distribution is similar to that in East Godavary which was one of the districts chosen by the Programme Evaluation Organisation in its study of fertiliser programmes* The District Fertiliser Committee, headed by the Collector makes the final approval of the proposals for distribution put forward by the District Agricultural Officer. Distribution of fertilisers to development blocks is made on the basis of prescribed criteria according to different crop areas. The distribution chart is then communicated to the different blocks and,to the. District Market Society which received supplies direct from the factories. The District Marketing Society then supplied fertilisers to different blocks through its agents, the cooperatives.^

1 RaghavelUjC.V* 'Fertiliser Distribution through Cooperatives,’ EPW, IV, 40, Oct. 1969» PP 1590-91? National Council of Applied Research,

Factors Affecting the Demand for Fertilisers - Problems and Policies*

New Delhi, 1964* P 58? see also, Parasker,R.K, 'Farmers, Fertilisers and Supply Lines,' ASI, XX, 11, Feb. 1966, pp 873-879•

2 Factors affecting Demand for Fertilisers - Problems and Policies* op.cit., P 58.

3 Government of India, Planning Commission, Programme Evaluation Organisation, Problems of Coordination in Agricultural Programmes, New Delhi, 1965> P 15*

4 Ibid.. pp 17-19? for an illustration of a typical distribution chart, see Chart I, Appendix,

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ko

Since the introduction of HYVP, allocation of fertilisers from central stocks to Andhra Pradesh, in common with other states has heen on the basis of targetted area wider different crops and the corresponding fertiliser recommendations# With the entry of private trade in the supply of nitrogenous fertilisers and the liberalisation of import restrictions,^"

there has been some easing of the supply position for the state as a whole#

A H the same, the PEO found that there were several rigidities in the dis­

tribution of fertilisers because of the preferential treatment given to HYV areas and virtually no allocation to non-HYV areas. 2 It also found that estimates of fertiliser requirements in individual state indents were highly inflated. It noted, however, that for the first time attention was paid to individual crop requirements in the allocation of fertilisers#3

1 Imports of fertilisers and fertiliser materials increased by 47 per cent between 1966-67 amd 1968-69 as a consequence of the liberalised policy of imports inaugurated in 1967 in pursuance of the new Agricultural Strategy, Government of India, Economic Survey. 1968-69, p 31; see also Government of India, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Ministry of Pood and Agriculture, Community Development and Cooperation, Economic Survey of

Indian Agriculture. New Delhi, 1967-68, pp 119-120. Imports of fertilisers (crude and manufactured) as a percentage of total imports of agricultural commodities increased during 1966-67 and 1968-69*

Fertiliser 1966-67 1967-68 1968-69

Manufactured 9*2 16.0 19*6

Crude 1.4 1.1 1.8

Economic Survey of Indian Agriculture, op.cit.. 1967-68 (p 121), 1968-69 (P 95).

2 Heport on the Evaluation of High-Yielding Varieties Programme. Kharif 1968#

op.cit#, pp 29-31#

141

Although the aim of lifting controls on fertiliser prices was to remove the monopoly of cooperatives, to date, they still command a large share of the total amount distributed. In 1972, cooperatives accounted for 60 per cent of the total amount of fertilisers distributed in Andhra Pradesh.

This reduction in the share of total distribution from 66 per cent in 1967 to 60 per cent in 1972, is due to two factors, the reduction in the allo­

cations from the Central Fertiliser Pool and the consequent decline in the volume of consignment credit provided by the central government and the increasing importance of commercial banks in the supply of credit* 2 The Fertiliser Credit Committee which examined the implications of the lifting of controls on fertiliser prices noted two principal problems xr

associated with the distribution of fertilisers by cooperatives. 3 They are the need to ensure timely supplies of fertilisers on farms, because the demand for fertilisers is seasonal, and the need to promote new types of fertilisers.

The Committee observed that in some districts, supplies were received too late for the Kharif crop* The delay was due to the late arrival of stocks at ports, inadequate transport facilities, and the absence of buffer stocks.

The inability of the cooperatives to cope with these problems was as much due to the activities of the state departments as due to their poor financial and organisational resources. The Committee was convinced, however, that without the lifting of controls the situation would have been a lot more grim.

1 Notes: ASI, XXVII, Sept. 6 1972, p 407* For the country as a whole, the share of cooperatives in the sale of fertilisers went down from 72 per cent in 1965-66 to 57 Per cent in 1966-67 and is expected to settle at 55-60 per cent of total sales, RAlRCRCj op.cit*. p 880*

2 RAIRCRC op.cit. * p 880.

5 Report of the Fertiliser Credit Committee of the Fertiliser Association of India, cited by Madalgi,G-.S. Population and Food Supply* Lalvani Publishing House, Bombay, 1970, P 180*

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The observations of the Fertiliser Credit Committee are relevant in the context of the New Strategy because they highlight the problem of distribution of fertilisers. Under the HYVP, cooperatives are not only the machinery for distributing fertilisers but constitute the medium for the

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propogation of the new technology* Their task is a difficult one because with the abolition of the Central Fertiliser Pool and the enlargement of the sphere of private trade, they face competition in acquiring fertilisers*

With regard to the distribution of fertilisers their most important function is the provision of credit* Here again, their monopoly has been eroded by

the entry of commercial banks in the financing of agriculture* 2 The importance of credit arises from the fact that more than 50 per cent of expenditure on

3 fertilisers is financed by credit provided by institutional agencies. The Shivaraman Committee had envisaged that by 1970-71» credit sales of fer­

tilisers would account for 70 per cent of consumption. ^

1 Fourth Five Year Plan* op.cit.* pp 115-115*

2 RAIRCRC,op.cit*« p 880* Before the emergence of commercial banks on the rural scene, cooperatives and government departments were the two most important sources of agricultural credit. The Reserve Bank of India extends credit to cooperatives to the extent of 90 per cent of the value of fertilisers in stock and in transit* Apart from these institutions some agro-processing industries also grant fertiliser credit to farmers.

The Food Corporation of India also supplies fertilisers in exchange for foodgrains. Report of the Study Team on Agricultural Administration*

op.cit*. Vol. I, p 167*

5 RAIRCRC, pp*cit*, p 78.

4 Shivaraman Committee Report, op.cit*. p 57* Figures for Andhra Pradesh are hard to come by, but we can assume that predictions of likely increase for the whole of India are applicable. The AIKCRC estimated that the actual value of fertilisers handled by cooperatives will increase by 18 per cent between 1966-67 and 1973-74> RAIRCRCppXcit*, p 76*

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