Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 13 December 2025
After years of prolonged disruption, the supply of essential fertilisers Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) and Urea to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands is set to resume, with consignments currently in transit, bringing renewed hope to the farming community.
Hon’ble Member of Parliament from Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray, has informed that the long-pending issue of non-availability of DAP and Urea has been addressed at the administrative level and that the supply process has now entered the execution stage.
The Islands have faced an acute shortage of these subsidised fertilisers since around 2019, severely affecting agricultural operations. The disruption in supply compelled farmers to rely on black-market sources at exorbitant prices, significantly increasing the cost of cultivation and impacting farm productivity.
After being elected for a fourth term in 2024, Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray took up the matter as a priority and pursued it consistently with the Government of India, including the Hon’ble Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers, as well as with the Andaman & Nicobar Administration, to ensure restoration of regular fertiliser supply to the Islands.
According to the MP, all required administrative procedures have now been completed. Full payment for both DAP and Urea has been released to the supplier firm, containers have been readied, and transportation of the fertilisers has commenced from Tuticorin to Chennai. The transit is expected to be completed within the next two days, following which the consignments will be shipped onward to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray clarified that there is no policy or budgetary constraint in ensuring the supply of DAP and Urea to the Islands, and stressed that timely requisition and close coordination among concerned agencies are essential to prevent recurrence of such shortages in the future.
Expressing optimism, the MP said the arrival of fertilisers would provide much-needed relief to farmers, help curb illegal black-market practices, and stabilise agricultural input costs across the Islands. He reaffirmed his commitment to closely monitor the situation until the fertilisers reach the ground and are smoothly distributed to farmers, and to work towards establishing a reliable and advance-planned fertiliser supply mechanism for the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
