Shillong, Aug 7: Activist Egenstar Kurkalang on Friday urged the state agriculture department to address the problem faced by the farmers related to fertilizers.

In a letter to the Commissioner & Secretary in-charge of the department, Kurkalang said, “I humbly urge the state government…to please make immediate necessary arrangements for providing Neem Coated Urea to the farmers of the state at subsidised rates…for this sowing season.”

He said ever since the state government discontinued lifting and providing urea fertilizer to the farmers of the state at subsidized rate and allowing sale in the open market, the farmers are facing hardship due to the exorbitant rate.

According to him, as of now price of Urea range from Rs 800 upto Rs 1,200 per bag of 45-50 kg which consequently has affected the production.

Kurkalang also said that the initiative of the state government for providing Bio Manure (Organic Manure) to the farmers is not sufficient and not available for fulfilling the requirements for farming activities.