Monsoon water has receded from most low-lying land in Pabna Sadar and Sujanagar, including the Padma chars, and the soil is coming into condition for tilling. The murikata onion planting season will begin in just two to three weeks, and farmers in these areas are already leasing land, collecting seed and making other preparations. But the thing they need most at the start of cultivation, fertiliser, is causing them great trouble.

When they go to retailers or authorised dealers, they are told there is a fertiliser shortage. Yet fertiliser is available from retailers at prices above those set by the government. In many cases it can be had directly from dealers too, but even then some sacks cost up to Tk 700 extra. Farmers say this will raise costs by about Tk 5,000 a bigha this season. Having suffered from poor yields and market prices in the past, they worry the same picture will be repeated.

Baku Khan is a farmer in Kolchori village of Char Tarapur union in Sadar upazila. Last year he sold three cows to grow murikata onion on 6 bighas of Padma char land, spending about Tk 7 lakh in total. But with poor prices and yields, he says he got only about Tk 2.5 lakh from selling the onions; the rest was a loss.

This time he cannot afford to farm on the same scale, so he is preparing to grow murikata onion on at most three bighas, and has arranged seed, leased land and made other preparations. Bangla DAP fertiliser is needed at the very start of onion planting, so he went to various shops and dealers to buy it at the government price. But hearing of the shortage and the extra prices has left him worried.

Baku Khan said BADC DAP priced at Tk 1,050 is being sold for Tk 1,400, and Bangla DAP priced at Tk 1,500 is being sold for Tk 2,200. Prices of all fertilisers and pesticides have likewise been raised for murikata onion planting. Last year fertiliser and pesticide cost Tk 3,500 to 5,000 a bigha; this year it will be Tk 8,000 to 10,000, an increase of about Tk 5,000 a bigha.

The manipulation of fertiliser will not stop at higher costs, he said. Because a shortage has been created, enough fertiliser is not available, so planting may be delayed. Late planting and inadequate fertiliser and care mean lower onion yields, and onions reaching the market late also fetch lower prices. "This is how we have been making losses year after year. Our demand is that we be able to buy enough fertiliser in the market at the government price," he said.

Farmers and market sources say a dishonest traders' syndicate creates an artificial fertiliser shortage several months before the planting season. Talk of a shortage is spread among farmers and retailers before the season, and then, at planting time, almost every fertiliser and pesticide is priced up on the back of it. With murikata onion and early vegetable planting under way across Pabna's upazilas, demand for fertiliser and pesticide has risen, and this is being used as an opportunity for excess profit.

At present no fertiliser is available at the government price in Pabna, including Sadar and Sujanagar upazilas. Bangla DAP priced at Tk 1,500 sells for Tk 2,200; BADC DAP priced at Tk 1,050 for Tk 1,380 to 1,400; MoP priced at Tk 1,000 for Tk 1,150; and TSP priced at Tk 1,350 for Tk 1,750. Urea and other fertilisers are likewise sold by the sack at various inflated prices, and prices are higher still by the kilogram or at retail. Pesticide prices have also been raised.

In protest, farmers recently observed a symbolic work stoppage at Kolchori Bahirchar in Char Tarapur union, Pabna.

They allege that although the government and local administration say there is no shortage, traders cite a shortage and charge them more, and no effective action is being taken. Farmers are demanding that stability be quickly restored to the fertiliser market.

Farmer Md Bappi said: "When we go to the dealer, he says there is no fertiliser. But if you go another way and pay extra, you get it. And in the retail market fertiliser is sold at high prices all the time. The agriculture office and administration do not look into this. If it were properly monitored and action taken, this problem would not exist. But I see no one to do it."

Another farmer, Abdus Salam, said: "The government says there is no shortage of fertiliser. But when we go to the market they say supply is low. So prices have been raised at will, starting from Tk 150 a sack. At the start of onion planting one 50kg sack of fertiliser is needed. At these prices, farmers will have to sell a few more cows or take loans to farm."

He said that when onions are harvested and prices should be good, imports from abroad push farmers into losses, and at planting time they are kept short of fertiliser and seed. "There is no one to look at farmers' hardship," he said.

Several retailers, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the government rate for BADC DAP is Tk 21 a kg, but because they have to buy it at much higher prices they must sell it at Tk 28. Other fertilisers likewise have to be sold at higher prices. The problem arises because large fertiliser shops and dealers do not release fertiliser at the correct price. When asked for a receipt, they write the bill on plain paper instead, and if asked for more they say there is no fertiliser. So retailers are forced to sell at higher prices.

Md Mithun of Biswas Enterprise at Sujanagar bazar said: "We are selling fertiliser and pesticide at the government price. Farmers are also buying directly. There is no shortage of fertiliser. But at the moment I have no Bangla DAP."

Md Jahangir Alam Pramanik, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Pabna, said farmers' fertiliser needs are met through 247 BCIC dealers in nine upazilas, including 19 in Pabna Sadar, 11 in Sujanagar and 10 in Ishwardi. "So far there is no shortage of fertiliser in the market. We have no information about extra prices being charged. But if anyone charges more, there will be no leniency. They will certainly be brought to justice," he said.

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