Farmers on the chars (river islands) of Gaibandha say they cannot get enough fertiliser at the height of the maize sowing season. Dealers and retailers are supplying far less than they need, they say, and they are calling for fertiliser to be sold on the open market.
The agriculture department has set a target of 18,000 hectares of maize across the district's 165 chars this year, about 1,000 hectares more than in recent years, and has appointed a sub-dealer on every char to get fertiliser to farmers quickly. Even so, some farmers have prepared their land and are waiting for fertiliser, while others planted maize as soon as the floodwater receded.
Farmers say fetching fertiliser from a dealer point costs them time and an extra Tk 300-400 in fares. Al Amin of Ujaldanga village in Phulchhari said the dealer gives only a little urea, so he has to buy the rest elsewhere at Tk 400-500 more a sack. Abul Hasnat of Erendabari, who is growing maize on 35 bighas, said the dealer gave him two sacks, which is nowhere near enough.
Farmer Samad Mia said dealers send them to the sub-assistant agriculture officer, who sends them on to the agriculture officer. Aizar Ali of Lal Chamar char in Sundarganj said farmers would not be harassed like this if fertiliser were released on the open market.
Md Mizanur Rahman, a fertiliser dealer in old Phulchhari, said he sells whatever monthly allocation the government gives him and that the shortage arises because everyone needs fertiliser at the same time. Md Asaduzzaman, acting deputy director of the district Department of Agricultural Extension, said maize sowing on the chars normally starts in November, but this year early floods brought it forward to early October and farmers are rushing to stock up several times their needs in advance; the warehouses, he said, hold enough fertiliser.
On the sandy loam of the chars, maize yields depend heavily on timely urea. Even with stocks in hand, the question this season is how soon they reach farmers on remote chars. The report is by Ajker Patrika's Gaibandha correspondent Anwar Hossain Shamim.
Photo: Khairuzzaman / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Ajker Patrika
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