Farmers of Nawalparashi worried over fertiliser shortage

Nawalparashi, June 11: Farmers in Nawalparashi (Bardaghat Susta Paschim) district are frustrated for not being able to procure fertilizer as per their requirement.

As the paddy plantation season is soon to begin with the arrival of monsoon, the farmers here are getting increasingly anxious over the poor yields if they cannot access adequate fertilizers. Gyaneshwor Sahani of Palhinandan rural municipality-4 expressed his concern over the likelihood of a lower harvest due to insufficient fertilizer.

Local farmers are facing a shortage of fertilizers this year as well, he shared, lamenting over their grievances going unheard by government agencies. According to Janatri Yadav, a shortfall of fertilizer is a recurring problem for the farmers here. Farmers are forced to buy fertilizer from India, paying exorbitantly. Like Yadav, many farmers are worried about how to consider farming in the absence of sufficient fertilizer. The paddy cultivation season has begun.

It is imperative to arrange fertilizers and pesticides before beginning farming. We have not been able to access fertilizer adequately,” he bemoaned. The problem surfaced due to an inadequate supply of fertilizer in the district. The Agriculture Inputs Company in the district cited the shortage of chemical fertilizer due to delays in the procurement and sales process.

The problem has emanated after some of the cooperatives working with the Company have yet to receive their supplies timely. There are altogether 80 cooperatives in the district. Among them, 73 have already received fertilizer and distributed it to farmers. However, seven cooperatives are still awaiting their supply. At present, the Company’s storehouse has 190 metric tonnes of DAP and 124.3 metric tonnes of urea in stock, shared Tara Prasad Khanal, Chief of the Company.

He shared that farmers in the district are plating rain-fed rice across 20,480 hectares for which, he added, 18,000 metric tonnes of urea and 12,000 metric tonnes of DPA are required.