As the government rushes to stockpile fertilisers ahead of the ensuing kharif season, amid global supply and shipping disruptions caused by the West Asia conflict, it now faces another major challenge: the sale of substandard inputs. Fertiliser samples were found “non-standard” in Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s parliamentary constituency, Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh, during the current rabi season (2025-26), shows documents accessed by The Indian Express.

The documents show that samples of diammonium phosphate (DAP) and ammonium phosphate sulphate (APS), both manufactured by the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), a multi-state cooperative society engaged in the manufacture and marketing of fertilisers, were found “non-standard” in Vidisha in January this year.…