Barely two weeks after a farmers’ agitation over moong procurement and fertiliser distribution forced the Madhya Pradesh government to suspend its newly introduced e-token system, the state has now halted the sale of subsidised fertilisers altogether. The government has now ordered a statewide stock reconciliation exercise.The Department of Farmers Welfare and Agriculture Development ordered all sales of subsidised fertilisers to be stopped from 7 pm on August 14 “until further orders”, saying the actual physical stocks held by fertiliser sellers would have to be matched with the quantities recorded on the Centre’s Integrated Fertilizer Management System (iFMS) portal.The order, issued by department secretary Nishant Barwade on August 14 and sent to all district collectors, does not state how large the discrepancy between the digital and physical stocks is, where the discrepancies have been detected or how long the verification will take. It also does not announce a date for resumption of sales.Also Read | How India prevented major fertiliser shortages despite West Asia war, and the concerns nowIn unusually sweeping directions, the government has instructed that no subsidised fertiliser be sold during the closure period through the state’s Marketing Federation sales centres, Primary Agricultural Credit Cooperative Societies, MP Agro outlets or private fertiliser dealers.“In order to ensure convenient supply of fertilisers to farmers, the actual stock of fertilisers available with fertiliser sellers in the state is to be reconciled (matched) with the Government of India’s iFMS portal,” the order says. “In view of this, fertiliser sales in the state are hereby ordered to remain closed from 7.00 PM on 14.08.2026 until further orders.”The order goes on to make clear that the exercise is not confined to one category of sellers. “During the period of closure of sales, no sale of subsidised fertilisers of any kind shall be made through the sales centres of the Marketing Federation, Primary Agricultural Credit Cooperative Societies, MP Agro sales centres, or private fertiliser sales centres,” it says, directing the administration to “ensure” compliance.Why nowThe government’s decision comes at a particularly sensitive point in the agricultural calendar. Kharif sowing has already taken place across much of the state and farmers require urea and other fertilisers at different stages of crop growth. Paddy growers are among those particularly dependent on timely fertiliser applications.Story continues below this adAlso Read | 2,000 farmers march towards Bhopal, bedding and cooking material in handState officials have said the agricultural department is stopping sales because it wants to “establish whether the quantity shown in the government’s digital system corresponds with what is actually sitting with dealers and distribution agencies.”The move also comes less than three weeks after thousands of farmers marched from Narmadapuram to Bhopal in one of the most serious agricultural agitations faced by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s government. Nearly 2,000 farmers, under the banner of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha and other farmer organisations, entered Bhopal after breaking through police barricades, demanding that the government procure 100 percent of their summer moong crop at the Minimum Support Price. Fertiliser distribution and the newly introduced e-token system were among their other major grievances.The government eventually announced a compromise. It increased the share of each eligible farmer’s moong crop that would be procured from 25 percent to 60 percent, extended the procurement deadline from August 10 to August 20 and the slot-booking deadline from July 30 to August 10.Explained | How the fertilisers industry has become synonymous with controls, and at what costMore significantly for the present fertiliser controversy, it suspended the e-token system with immediate effect pending a review by a committee headed by the Agriculture Production Commissioner. The farmers subsequently called off their agitation.Reactions to the moveStory continues below this adThe August 14 order, however, offers no explanation of what triggered the reconciliation beyond the need to match the two sets of records. It does not quantify the suspected mismatch. Nor does it identify whether the problem is concentrated among cooperatives, MP Agro outlets, Marketing Federation centres or private dealers.Bharatiya Kisan Sangh leader Rahul Doot told The Indian Express that the government’s decision could leave farmers who have already exhausted their stocks exposed to serious crop losses.Also Read | From Western Disturbance to El Niño: The climate terms you’re hearing this summer, explained“Around 80 lakh farmers will be impacted. How will the stock exercise be done? Those who don’t have fertilizer will be at risk. If they fear black marketing then they should have all data online. Traders are online, then they should be able to see all stock and find out where the black marketing will take place. This is the first time such an order has been passed,” Doot said.The Congress party has threatened an agitation if the fertiliser stocks are not issued. Congress Madhya Pradesh president Jitu Patwari accused the Mohan Yadav government of worsening the fertiliser crisis in the state by halting subsidised fertiliser sales indefinitely in the name of stock verification.Story continues below this ad“Farmers in Madhya Pradesh are already grappling with a severe shortage of fertilisers and long queues, and on top of that, the Mohan Yadav government has imposed an indefinite halt on fertiliser sales across the state under the guise of ‘stock matching. If the MP government does not lift this ban right away, the Congress will hit the streets in a fierce agitation for farmers’ rights,” Patwari said.