Kavre farmers face fertiliser shortage

By Kedar Timalsina,Banepa, June 14: Fertiliser shortage has been a recurring problem for farmers of Kavrepalanchok district for years.  This planation season is also no different. Currently, the farmers are not finding enough chemical fertilisers to use in crops, including maize, and vegetables.

With the failure of the government to supply required chemical fertilisers to farmers as per demand through the Agricultural Inputs Company Limited (AICL) and Salt Trading Corporation (STC), the farmers are forced to buy chemical fertilisers from the middlemen at higher prices. 

The farmers in the district are now in need of urea fertiliser to use in maize, but the AICL and STC have been unable to provide it. Both these organisations have been providing limited amount of chemical fertilisers to the farmers through cooperatives on a quota system. 

Yogendra Kumar Parajuli, Chief of the AICL, Dhulikhel, said that the AICL was not in a position to meet the demand as farmers demanded a big amount urea fertiliser for crops, including maize. 

He said that Kavrepalanchok district gets only 17.5 per cent of the chemical fertiliser received by the provincial government, and the AICL has been unable to provide the chemical fertilisers as per the demands. “This year also, we are unable to meet the needs of locals,” he added. 

He said that Kavrepalanchowk district consumes the highest amount of chemical fertilisers in Nepal, but a low quota was fixed for the district when implementing the quota system. 

Parajuli said the office has received 13,900 tonnes of chemical fertilisers for the current fiscal year.

He said that AICL Dhulikhel Office has received 6,210 tonnes of urea, 3,039 tonnes of DAP and 274 tonnes of potash fertilisers in the current fiscal year. 

He said that out of the chemical fertilisers received by the office, 5,704 tonnes of urea, 2,878 tonnes of DAP and 260 tonnes of potash fertilisers have been distributed to 13 local levels in the district. 

He said that about 500 tonnes of DAP fertiliser are yet to arrive as per the quota determined for the current fiscal year.

He said that that he received information that the urea fertiliser of the quota would arrive in the district by end of June. 

According to Parajuli, there is an immediate need for about 1,500 tonnes of urea fertiliser for Kavrepalanchok and Sindhupalchok districts.  Analysing the demand of fertilisers in Kavrepalanchowk and Sindhupalchowk districts, the Office has made a arrangement to get 19,500 tonnes of fertilisers, including 10,500 tonnes of urea,  8,500 tonnes of DAP and 500 tonnes of potash for the upcoming fiscal year 2025/26. 

As AICL and STC are unable to provide sufficient quantities of urea fertiliser, farmers in the district are forced to buy urea fertiliser from middlemen paying up to Rs. 2,500 per sack (50 kgs). The STC and AICL provide the same amount at Rs. 1,000 with subsidies. 

Ishwor Acharya, branch chief of Salt Trading Corporation Banepa, said that there is a high demand for urea fertiliser in the office. 

He said that more than 20 cooperatives have been making a high demand for urea fertiliser on a daily basis. The STC, Banepa branch has been providing chemical fertilisers through 550 cooperatives.

He said that it is not possible to provide urea fertiliser as per the demands of farmers.