Farmers in Nishchintapur village of Meherpur Sadar upazila cannot get the fertiliser they need. Land is being prepared for winter vegetables just as the aman rice crop needs feeding, so demand for DAP and TSP has risen all at once, and the allocation has not kept pace.
Nishchintapur farmer Zahirul Islam grows aman, banana, bitter gourd, onion, cauliflower and cucumber on 8 bighas. In the first week of September he queued from morning at a dealer's outlet in neighbouring Ujalpur and by midday had 50 kg of TSP. "How am I to grow crops on 8 bighas with only 50 kg of fertiliser?" he asked, adding that he had paid extra to get some more elsewhere.
The Department of Agricultural Extension says aman covers 26,930 hectares in the district this season, up from 26,860 last season. At 13 kg a bigha, aman alone needs about 2,616 tonnes of DAP and TSP. Winter vegetables are going in on 4,647 hectares and, at 30 kg a bigha, need about 1,041 tonnes. Together that is 3,656 tonnes, but September's allocation was 2,197 tonnes. From July to September the district was allocated 3,589 tonnes.
Abdul Awal, a BCIC dealer in Kutubpur union, said he lifted 43 tonnes of TSP and DAP from BADC and BCIC between 1 and 27 September and it sold out within 15 days. Jamirul Islam, a farmer in Kulbaria, said unlicensed shops ask Tk 2,000 for a 50 kg sack of TSP whose fixed price is Tk 1,350.
Traders say some 3,000 unregistered retail shops in the district once brought in fertiliser from Noapara in Jashore and other markets and sold it in remote areas. Most have closed, leaving farmers dependent on 111 BADC and 35 BCIC dealers. According to the dealers, urea, MoP and sulphate allocations are sufficient; the shortfall is in DAP and TSP.
There is also a wide gap between what farmers think they need and what extension officers recommend. Hamed Mia, a farmer in Gangni, said tomatoes need 400 kg of TSP a bigha while officials tell him to apply 30 kg. Officials say using more than needed raises costs and can harm the soil. Kazi Shahnewaz, deputy director of the district extension office, said supply and distribution were being managed against real field demand and farmers encouraged to use balanced doses. Deputy Commissioner Shilpi Rani Roy said allocation, supply and dealer-level distribution were being monitored regularly.
This report is based on information from Md Abu Sayeed, Prothom Alo's Meherpur correspondent.
Photo: Press Information Department / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Source: Prothom Alo
Comments
(0)