Nearly 15,000 seed and fertiliser dealers across Punjab suspended operations on Monday in a nationwide protest against central government policies they claim are crippling their livelihoods and damaging relationships with farmers.
Mandatory Bundling Practices
Highlighting a growing rift between the trade and the Union agriculture ministry, dealers allege they are being coerced into mandatory bundling practices and held liable unfairly for the failure of government-supplied seeds. The Agri Inputs Dealers Association alleged that fertiliser companies are conditioning the supply of essential diammonium phosphate (DAP) on the mandatory purchase of nano urea and nano DAP.
Association president Birinder Singh Kapoor in Nabha said: "We are compelled to sell these additional products, yet the dealers face the brunt of the backlash." He said farmer unions accused traders of forcing unnecessary and unproven chemicals upon them, while university-backed research suggested these newer chemicals might even reduce protein content in food grains.
Liability and Legal Burdens
A primary grievance involves the disproportionate accountability framework in the current Seed Bill. Dealers argue that when seeds fail, punitive actions like licence cancellations target the traders, while government institutions and producers often escape liability for supplying the same batches. Even when courts grant relief, dealers report prolonged administrative harassment. The association wants government institutions to be accountable whenever their supplied seeds fail quality standards.
Shrinking Margins
On the economic front, the trade remains at a standstill over stagnant profit margins. Under the current subsidy regime, dealers operate on a 1.5% to 2% margin, which the association wants increased to at least 8%, arguing that the current rate is unsustainable due to rising operational costs. Kapoor alleged that the government had refused to adjust these margins to avoid increasing the subsidy burden on the treasury and private corporations.
National Escalation
Monday's strike spanned 18 states, with Maharashtra dealers embarking on an indefinite shutdown. While the Punjab protest was a one-day symbolic action following failed talks with Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the Punjab dealers warned of an intensified agitation if their memorandum remained unaddressed.
