The Kharif season is one of the most crucial periods for farmers in Andhra Pradesh. Instead of concentrating on sowing and crop management, thousands of farmers are now spending hours outside Rythu Seva Kendras waiting for urea. What should have been a smooth fertilizer distribution process has reportedly turned into a frustrating ordeal because of the state government’s newly introduced digital fertilizer distribution system.
Farmers allege that the app-based system, introduced in the name of digital governance, is creating more hardships than solutions. Delayed OTPs, repeated biometric authentication failures, poor internet connectivity, and technical glitches are preventing farmers from purchasing urea on time. As a result, valuable farming time is being wasted during one of the most important agricultural seasons.
Digital App Creates Problems Than Solutions
The new fertilizer distribution system requires farmers to book urea through a mobile application, receive a One-Time Password (OTP), and complete biometric verification before purchasing fertilizer.
However, in many villages across Andhra Pradesh, mobile connectivity remains weak and unreliable. Farmers complain that OTPs often arrive after long delays or fail to arrive altogether. Even after receiving the OTP, biometric authentication reportedly fails multiple times before being accepted.
Instead of making the process easier, the digital application has become another obstacle. Farmers are forced to spend several hours waiting at fertilizer distribution centres just to purchase a single bag of urea.
At a time when every hour in the field matters, the government’s digital experiment is keeping farmers away from their farms.
Tenant Farmers Face the Biggest Challenge
Farmer associations say tenant farmers are bearing the biggest burden of the new system.
Since the land they cultivate is registered in the names of landowners, many tenant farmers face difficulties while using the application. The system reportedly fails to recognize them as eligible beneficiaries even though they are the ones actively cultivating the land.
Unable to complete the verification process, many tenant farmers are struggling to obtain fertilizer when they need it the most. Agricultural organisations argue that the digital platform has ignored the ground realities of Andhra Pradesh’s farming sector, where lakhs of tenant farmers play a vital role in cultivation.
Poor Internet Connectivity Delays Fertilizer Distribution
The situation is particularly difficult in rural areas where internet connectivity remains poor.
Without reliable mobile networks, farmers cannot receive OTPs or complete authentication. Many are forced to leave their agricultural work and spend entire days waiting at Rythu Seva Kendras in the hope that the system will eventually work.
Farmer organisations say that instead of helping farmers, technology has become a major reason for delays in fertilizer distribution.
Allegations of Urea Being Sold Above MRP
Along with technical difficulties, allegations have also surfaced that urea is being sold above the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) in certain places.
Opposition parties have accused the government of failing to effectively monitor fertilizer distribution and prevent black marketing. They argue that while farmers struggle to obtain urea through the official system, irregularities in pricing continue unchecked.
YSRCP Compares Current System with Jagan Government’s Doorstep Distribution Model
The YSR Congress Party has sharply contrasted the present situation with the fertilizer distribution model implemented during the tenure of former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
During the previous government, fertilizers were supplied through Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs), bringing essential agricultural inputs directly to villages. Farmers largely did not have to travel long distances, wait in lengthy queues, or struggle with OTPs, biometric verification, and mobile applications.
The RBK system was designed to ensure timely availability of fertilizers close to farmers’ fields, reducing dependence on middlemen and helping curb black marketing. Farmers could focus on cultivation instead of worrying about procurement.
YSRCP leaders argue that the current government has replaced a farmer-friendly delivery mechanism with a technology-driven system that has become increasingly difficult for ordinary farmers to navigate.
Farmer Welfare or a Digital Crisis?
Agriculture depends heavily on timely availability of inputs. Any delay in fertilizer supply during the Kharif season can directly affect crop growth, productivity, and farmers’ incomes.
Critics say that instead of simplifying access to fertilizers, the present government has created technological barriers that are making farming more difficult. A system intended to improve transparency has, according to farmers, become a source of delays, uncertainty, and inconvenience.
As queues grow longer outside fertilizer centres, many are questioning whether digital governance should come at the cost of farmers’ livelihoods.
Farmers Need Urea, Not Technical Barriers
Farmer organisations are urging the Andhra Pradesh government to immediately simplify the fertilizer distribution process and remove the technical hurdles that are preventing timely access to urea.
They argue that agriculture cannot wait for delayed OTPs, failed biometric authentication, or unstable internet connectivity. Farmers require fertilizer when crops need it—not after spending hours or even days battling technical problems.
The contrast between the previous doorstep delivery model through Rythu Bharosa Kendras and the current app-based distribution system has become a major political issue. While the earlier system was praised by supporters for bringing fertilizers directly to villages, critics say the present mechanism is forcing farmers to spend more time in queues than in their fields.
For Andhra Pradesh’s farming community, the message is simple: farmers need timely urea, not technological barriers that stand between them and their crops.
