Farmers entering a dealer's warehouse in Bhurungamari, Kurigram, and taking fertiliser after failing to get any has raised fresh questions about the country's fertiliser situation. On the morning of Sunday, 23 August, a group of farmers went into the warehouse complaining that they could not get fertiliser. According to the agriculture department, 202 sacks of urea and 23 sacks of potash were taken.

Coming at a time when demand for fertiliser rises during the aman season, the incident has sharpened questions about supply in the field: whether it reflects weaknesses in the local supply system or a mob action by some farmers, and what the real situation on the ground is.

The government says the country has enough fertiliser, more than at the same time last year, and that a section of dealers and traders is deliberately creating chaos over fertiliser to destabilise the situation.

Farmers in many areas, however, say that although stocks are adequate on paper, they are not getting fertiliser when they need it and are forced to pay more than the government-fixed price.

Farmers in several districts, including Joypurhat, Naogaon, Kurigram, Dinajpur and Sherpur, told Jagonews24 that they were not getting as much fertiliser as they needed. They have to go round dealers and sales centres, and in many cases get fertiliser only after a recommendation or phone call from a political activist.

Many farmers complain that they have to pay Tk 4 to Tk 10 a kg over the price for urea, TSP, DAP and MOP, or Tk 200 to Tk 500 extra for a 50kg sack. Some said they had still not got any fertiliser at all.

Masum Mia, a farmer in Bhurungamari, Kurigram, said: "I went round several shops and still could not buy fertiliser. Sometimes the shop is shut, sometimes there is no fertiliser, and sometimes they say there is no allocation. Day after day I am going round to the dealer's door."

Farid Uddin, a farmer from Ganipur village in Akkelpur, Joypurhat, said the dealer was asking Tk 200 more per sack of urea, saying there was no stock. "A sack of urea costs Tk 1,350 at the government price; they are asking Tk 1,550. Earlier I bought DAP at Tk 350 more per sack."

Majidul Islam, a farmer in Badalgachhi, Naogaon, said the dealer kept him waiting for several days without giving him fertiliser, and he got it only after a local representative phoned.

Akbar Ali, a farmer from Kamalpur village in Dinajpur Sadar upazila, said: "There is no fertiliser in the market. I was forced to buy urea from a retailer at Tk 40 a kg, because the fertiliser has to go on now. We keep going back to the dealers again and again."

Claiming there is no shortage in the country, the Ministry of Agriculture sees the unrest in the field as a planned conspiracy. At a recent press conference at the ministry, Agriculture Minister Mohammad Aminur Rashid said: "There is chaos in the field over fertiliser; this is a planned conspiracy."

He said the country had more fertiliser in stock than at the same time last year, and many government warehouses had no room left to store it. "We have made a new policy on fertiliser. Those who think they will lose out because of it are causing trouble. Since we have fertiliser, we are not afraid of conspiracies. I would say to those doing this: 'This is not good, don't do it.'"

The ministry claims that many dealers aligned with the Awami League are talking of a crisis without lifting their allocated fertiliser. Some are selling their allocation to retailers or other agents, and some dishonest dealers have formed a syndicate to sell at higher prices.

The ministry says many who obtained dealerships under the former Awami League government are trying to destabilise the situation for fear of losing them under the new policy. There is also a long-running rivalry between dealers of the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) and the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC).

The new policy brings BCIC and BADC dealers into a single integrated system. To this end the ministry has issued the Fertiliser Dealer Appointment and Fertiliser Dealer Retention Policy 2025 (Amended). Ministry officials allege that a section of old dealers and traders who opposed the new system is still active.

In addition, although there is no allocation for tea gardens this time, fertiliser is being supplied to them from the regular supply system. Many farmers, fearing a shortage, are also buying and stockpiling fertiliser for early potato planting.

The ministry said talk that retailers would be cancelled under the new policy was also affecting the situation. Only problematic retailers, such as those without proper licences or those trading on someone else's licence, would face action, it said, but rumours about them were spreading across the country and had unsettled the fertiliser market.

Dealers say that while there are some problems following the policy, supply and allocation are in fact low. Shamsul Islam Mondal, president of the Kurigram Fertiliser Association and a fertiliser dealer, said allocations were lower than demand. MM Babul, general secretary of the Mymensingh District Fertiliser Association, also said supply and allocation were low. Taken together, the decision to implement the policy in the middle of the growing season and inadequate allocations have become a challenge for the government.

According to the latest ministry figures, stocks of the four main fertilisers were satisfactory as of 19 August. The opening stock of urea was 614,000 tonnes, with 409,000 tonnes of TSP, 458,000 tonnes of DAP and an opening MOP stock of 284,000 tonnes. The government has made adequate allocations for the current aman season; for September the total allocation is about 443,000 tonnes, including 226,000 tonnes of urea.

The government has been forced to keep production shut at fertiliser factories, which has created uncertainty over the safety stock and supplies for the coming boro season. The government does not currently hold enough stock to remove that uncertainty, so fertiliser is being imported to cover the shortfall.

In this context, a further 365,000 tonnes of fertiliser are being bought from various countries and organisations at government level in the 2026-27 fiscal year, at a cost of Tk 2,695 crore: 70,000 tonnes of urea, 115,000 tonnes of MOP, 120,000 tonnes of DAP and 60,000 tonnes of TSP. The purchases were approved on Monday, 24 August, at a meeting of the cabinet committee on government purchase at the Secretariat, chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury.

Agriculture Secretary Md Selim Khan told Jagonews24 that old dealers were causing the problems over fertiliser. "With the amount of fertiliser we have and have allocated, there will be no problem. Everyone will get fertiliser. But misleading information is being spread about the new policy, which is creating chaos in the field."

He said there were some problems among dealers, and strict monitoring had begun. The ministry had also held a meeting with agriculture officials of all 64 districts, who were told to be strict in monitoring and were warned.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.