Shortages of chemical fertiliser have pushed farmers in Kurigram to use more organic fertiliser instead. They are making it themselves from cow dung, compost and other organic material and using it on winter vegetables. Farmers say yields are good, their dependence on chemical fertiliser is falling, and they are spared some of the trouble of chasing supplies.
In August and September, fertiliser shortages set off protests in almost every upazila of the district. Many farmers waited at dealers' shops and warehouses from early morning and went home without fertiliser. In some places angry farmers damaged warehouses, and cases were filed against several of them.
To avoid harassment and legal trouble, and to feed their crops on time, Kurigram's farmers are now using more organic fertiliser. They say they have been going from place to place for fertiliser since the start of the season without getting what they need.
The picture is the same in parts of Roumari, Rajarhat and Ulipur upazilas. Farmers there say they cannot get enough fertiliser at the government price, so to avoid harassment they buy less than they need on the open market. That has made them lean more on organic fertiliser to meet their crops' nutrient needs.
Farmers Mottaleb, Amir Hossain and Mansur Ali of Char Bhurungamari village in Bhurungamari upazila said that without enough chemical fertiliser they have had to use organic fertiliser and magnesium. Some are using DAP in place of urea. In their view, organic fertiliser applied properly gives good yields.
Abu Fattah Md Rawshan Kabir, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Kurigram, said the district has received an allocation of 15,509 tonnes of fertiliser for winter crops, plus an extra 500 tonnes each of TSP, DAP and MOP. He said the allocation is enough for Kurigram's needs, while stressing that organic fertiliser matters greatly for crop production.
This report is based on a dispatch from Krishi Shomoy's Kurigram correspondent.
Photo: Sindugab / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Krishi Shomoy
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