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"Farmers should not panic or hoard. Fertilisers are available across districts, and complaint cells have been set up to address grievances," Yogi said, Citing detailed data, Adityanath and agriculture minister Surya Pratap Shahi said supplies were not only sufficient but higher than last year. According to official figures, 42.64 lakh metric tonnes of fertiliser have been sold between April 1 and August 18 in the state this year, compared to 36.76 lakh MT during the same period last year, including 31.62 lakh MT of urea, which is 4.37 lakh MT higher than 2024. Shahi said around 1.52 crore farmers had procured urea this season through PoS (point of sale) machines using biometric authentication. He admitted to irregularities in border districts like Maharajganj and Siddharthnagar, where multiple large purchases by a few individuals have raised suspicions of hoarding, and said strict action is being taken. As of August 18, UP had 37.70 lakh MT of urea, of which 31.62 lakh MT had already been purchased. Stocks also include 9.25 lakh MT of DAP and 5.40 lakh MT of NPK, while fresh rakes of urea and DAP are in transit. Officials said 12,653 raids had been conducted so far, leading to suspension and cancellation of hundreds of licenses and 93 FIRs against black marketing and hoarding. Farmers say they do not doubt the government's claims of availability of adequate fertilisers. "But the fact remains that farmers are not able to get it. Maybe, the stock is not reaching the cooperatives or the cooperatives are diverting the stocks," Ghan Shyam Singh Yadav of Alapur village under Behaghat block in Gorakhpur. Chandan Singh of Babina in Jhansi said, "The problem of urea shortage in our region is largely because the fertiliser is being diverted to the nearby districts of MP where the price is higher in the open market." Ram Asrey Verma, a progressive farmer from Barabanki and Padma Shri awardee, said that apart from other factors, a key reason for the urea shortage was the tendency of farmers to overuse it while avoiding DAP and potash, simply because urea is much cheaper. "Farmers should opt for a balanced mix," he advised. However, many farmers disagreed with him, insisting they knew what was best. Jitendra Singh, a farmer from Bevri Rukhara village under BKT village in Lucknow, purportedly queued up outside the local cooperative from early morning till late evening for three consecutive days, only to return home empty-handed each time. Angry farmers in Etah on Wednesday blocked the Aliganj-Etah road near a government purchase centre. The protest caused a traffic jam which was cleared only after Kotwali Nagar police intervened and pacified the farmers. Opposition parties have accused the government of being in denial. Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav said farmers across the state were struggling to get both urea and DAP. "Large-scale black marketing of fertilisers is leaving farmers helpless across UP," he alleged.