By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, June 14: With the beginning of paddy plantation season, farmers across the country are facing the shortage of chemical fertilisers.
According to the Ministry of Agricultural and Livestock Development, there is a shortage of chemical fertilisers in the country with the beginning of maize and paddy plantation season as fertilisers imported from outside the country are stranded at Kolkata and Kandla port due to prolonged pandemic of COVID-19.
“The problem appeared in the country due to inability to import the fertilisers in lockdown enforced to stem the spread of COVID-19. About 71,500 tonnes of fertiliser being imported targeting this paddy and maize season has been stranded at Kolkata and Kandla Port for the last one and a half months resulting in the shortage of fertiliser at present,” said Hari Bahadur KC, spokesman at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development.
Around 50,000 tonnes DAP imported by Agriculture Inputs Company Limited (AICL) has been stranded at Kolkata Port while around 21,500 tonnes urea imported by Salt Trading Corporation (STC) has been stranded at the Kandla Port.
The government had initiated to import around 21,500 tonnes of fertilzier via Kandla Port of Gujarat after the closure of Kolkata Port due to COVID-19, but fertiliser being imported from Kandla Port also got stranded for the last one and a half months.
KC informed that the government failed to release the fertiliser from the Kandla Port despite continued effort of the Ministry of Agricultural and Livestock Development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nepali Embassy in India.
However, the process has started to release 50,000 tonnes DAP stranded at Kolkata Port. Out of the total quantity, around 3,000 tonnes has arrived in Birgunj ICD.
It will take 45 days to ease supply of urea
KC said that the AICL had already begun the process of importing additional 50,000 tonnes of urea from China via Kolkata Port which was expected to arrive Nepal within one and a half months.
He said that there would not be dearth of fertiliser for the paddy season if this amount of urea arrived Nepal within the expected time period.
He said that lockdown caused by COVID-19 had affected the import chemical fertiliser in time despite beginning the procurement process timely.
According to the ministry, around 121,000 tonnes of fertiliser was in transit due to the lockdown while the government had set a target to sell 450,000 tonnes of fertilisers to the farmers in subsidised rate for the current fiscal year.
The demand for fertiliser is increasing with the beginning of the rainy season, he said, urging the concerned authorities, including AICL and STC, to distribute fertiliser from the existing stock in effective manner.
The ministry has received complaints about the practice of cooperatives and few dealers selling fertilisers at higher price, he said. The government will take action against those wrongdoers, he added.
Netra Bhandari, managing director of AICL, said that there had appeared shortage of urea in the market due to its high demand.
“The demand for urea is high compared to DAP. Lack of awareness among the farmers about fertilisers is the main reason behind the shortage of urea. Farmers are using urea in paddy fields haphazardly instead of DAP despite cheaper rate due to lack of knowledge,” he said.
He suggested the farmers using DAP for the paddy which is comparatively more effective than the use of urea.
He claimed that there would not be shortage of fertiliser if the farmers used the chemical fertilisers with proper knowledge.
At present, around 14,000 tonnes of DAP, 10,000 tonnes of urea and 5,000 tonnes of potash is in stock with AICL and the STC.