Farmers Face Chemical Fertilizer Shortage During Cropping Season

Janakpurdham. Every year during the cropping season, farmers face the compulsion of chemical fertilizer shortage. Due to untimely fertilizer supply, farmers face fertilizer shortage in the season.

Currently, chemical fertilizer is needed for maize crops. In a few months, farmers will be in the compulsion of arranging fertilizer for paddy cultivation.

The shortage of chemical fertilizer has started increasing even in Madhesh Province, considered important for food production. Farmers say that agricultural production will decline due to the lack of easy availability of chemical fertilizer, reliable irrigation, and improved seeds.

'On one hand, the government says it prioritizes agricultural production and productivity, but on the other hand, it cannot provide the fertilizer needed by farmers on time,' said Ram Prasad Sah, a farmer from Dhanusha.

Farmers in Madhesh are disappointed due to not getting fertilizer on time for Chaithe paddy, maize, and sugarcane.

Ashok Jha, a farmer from Nawalpur, Sarlahi, complained that along with the shortage of fertilizer in the market, black marketing has also increased. He said that he could not plant sugarcane due to not getting fertilizer on time.

Jyotish Chandra Jha, a resident of Nagrain Municipality, Dhanusha, also said that the fertilizer shortage has been repeated this year just like last year. 'There is an extreme shortage of fertilizer. Black marketing has also increased,' he said. 'In previous years, we used to manage by bringing fertilizer from across the border, but with stricter border controls this year, the problem has increased.'

Farmers have also urged the government to ensure timely fertilizer supply.

As the time for paddy transplantation approaches, the Provincial Office of the Agricultural Inputs Company Limited, Janakpurdham, which sells and distributes government subsidized fertilizer, does not have enough stock of DAP and Urea fertilizer for Madhesh.

Farmers say that if chemical fertilizer is not used in the field where it has already been used once, the productivity of crops like paddy and wheat decreases significantly. Therefore, they say that it is mandatory to use chemical fertilizer for cultivation.

Rabin Basnet, a crop development officer at the Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives, Madhesh Province, said that the current fertilizer shortage is due to less availability of fertilizer compared to the demand in Madhesh Province.

He said, 'Since it is not possible to purchase fertilizer directly for its fulfillment, we have received news that the possibility of fertilizer coming from abroad is low when contacting Salt Trading and Agricultural Inputs formally/informally.' He said that work is being carried forward as per the instructions from the federal ministry to adopt alternative measures.

According to Dinesh Sharma, Information Officer at the Agricultural Inputs Company Limited, Madhesh Province, Birgunj, the shortage has increased because the supply of chemical fertilizer is not as per the country's requirement. He said, 'Demand and supply are not equal. The country needs 1.7 to 1.8 million metric tons of fertilizer, but the government has only been able to bring 300,000 to 400,000 metric tons of chemical fertilizer, leading to a shortage.'

According to Sharma, the goods purchased have also been held up due to the price increase in petroleum products. However, he said that since urea fertilizer has been brought in multiple times, there will be no shortage of urea fertilizer this year, but a shortage of DAP fertilizer may be seen.

According to the periodic data from July 1 to March 30 of the Agricultural Inputs Provincial Office, there are 27,431 metric tons of urea fertilizer, 10,215 metric tons of DAP, 4,758 metric tons of potash, 52 metric tons of lime, and a total of 42,628 metric tons of other fertilizers in stock.