Fertiliser shortage at dealers, higher retail prices

Ismail Hossain has cultivated Aman paddy on two bighas of land this year. He also has a mango orchard on another bigha. He was applying fertiliser to his paddy field on Tuesday afternoon. Altogether, he needed two sacks of two sacks of DAP (diammonium phosphate) and two sacks of MOP (muriate of potash) and urea.

Asked how much he had received, the farmer from Haripur village in Paba upazila of Rajshahi said, “Consider it half.”

Saying that he had to buy fertiliser at a higher price, Ismail Hossain said he went to the dealer and returned home empty-handed on the first day after being at the back of the queue. He went again the following day and received a small amount. Forced to turn to a retail shop, he bought a 50kg sack of DAP for Tk 1,750. Its government-fixed price is Tk 1,050. This fertiliser is not available at all at some shops.

A visit to Messrs Khalek Traders in Haripur Bazar corroborated his claim. The sales centre was locked. Contacted over mobile phone, proprietor Mohammad Ali told Prothom Alo that there was no fertiliser at their shop. So he had closed the shop and gone to a meeting.

He said they were expected to receive an additional allocation within a day or two. If they received it, they would then be able to supply fertiliser.

Farmers in Rajshahi say they are not getting the fertiliser they need on time from government-appointed dealers. At this time, they need DAP and MOP fertiliser. They are not getting either of the two from the dealers.

Meanwhile, some dealers have closed their sales centres, saying that all the fertiliser allocated to them has run out. Farmers have to buy the fertiliser at higher prices from retail sellers outside.

The same picture of a fertiliser shortage was seen in different villages of Paba upazila during a visit to the area yesterday.

Farmer Abdullah Al Faruk from Kasba village of Paba upazila went to a local dealer’s shop yesterday, Tuesday afternoon to buy fertiliser. But he did not get any. Expressing his frustration, Faruk told Prothom Alo, “Paddy has a particular growth period. I have to apply the fertiliser within that period.”

At Bhai Bhai Traders on the north side of the road in Haripur Bazar, salesman Hridoy was seen lowering the shop’s shutter.

He said fertiliser was available but was being sold in small quantities. They could not supply as much as demanded. It was around 1:00 pm at the time. Asked why he was closing the shop, he said he was going to have lunch.

Several people in the market said fertiliser was available at Moonlight Krishi Bitan, over two kilometres west of there. Upon visiting the shop, farmers were seen returning without getting the fertiliser they needed.

Farmer Russel Babu from Gohmabana village of the upazila had received one sack of urea fertiliser. But he needed DAP and MOP fertiliser. Unable to get those, he was returning. He said he had cultivated paddy on nine bighas of land.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, Aman paddy has been cultivated on 83,600 hectares of land in Rajshahi district this season. For August, Rajshahi was allocated 7,574 metric tonnes of urea, 2,647 metric tonnes of DAP, 1,511 metric tonnes of TSP and 1,760 metric tonnes of MOP (potash) fertiliser.

Mustafa Kamal Hossain, deputy director of the Rajshahi Department of Agricultural Extension, said dealers had already lifted all the fertiliser allocated for August.

He told Prothom Alo that dealers could start lifting fertiliser from the September allocation from now if necessary. In this situation, there is no reason for the fertiliser shortage to persist. Legal action will be taken through mobile courts if any irregularities are found anywhere.