Birgunj. It has been a month since Alakhdev Prasad Tharu, a farmer from Kudauli of Jirabhawani rural municipality-5 in Parsa, planted saplings in his field. However, he has not been able to get the fertilizer (chemical fertilizer) he needs. “On the one hand, it was difficult to save the paddy plants due to drought,” he said. ’

He complained that he was not getting the required fertilizer for paddy cultivation. “Straightforward farmers sometimes face water problems,” he said, adding, “The villagers manage the fertilizers anyway, even if they use the source force.” We have to sit down to tell whom. ’

Now it is time for the farmers of Tarai-Madhes to sow urea fertilizer in paddy. However, it is very difficult to get urea fertilizer here. Genalal Patel, who has been cultivating four bighas of paddy in Birgunj Metropolitan City-28, Bagahi, also said that the sky has brought hope among the farmers. “We are trying to create hope that there will be some paddy after the rain here,” he said. There is hope that both seeds and paddy plants will grow. ’

He complained that the problem of fertilizer has created another tension in recent times. “Those who do agricultural work can never remain calm,” he said, adding, “We have been facing shortage. Sometimes there is a shortage of water, sometimes there is a shortage of fertilizer. According to the Agriculture Knowledge Centre, Parsa, 16,967 metric tonnes of chemical fertilizers were used in parsa district in the fiscal year 2078÷79 BS. According to the Centre, 10,090 metric tons of urea fertilizer, 6,096 metric tons of DAP and 275 metric tons of potash were used that year.

There is no exact data on how much fertilizer has been used in the last three years. Centre’s chief Ramjivan Thakur said that chemical fertilizers are being used excessively as the fertility of agricultural land in Parsa has decreased. “According to the government norms, three÷ to four kilograms of fertilizers are required to be used per kattha, but in the name of growing more farming, farmers use 8÷10 kilograms of chemical fertilizer per kattha,” he said. ’

Availability of fertilizer in Parsa only 60%

In Parsa, the government has not been able to provide fertilizers as per the demand of the farmers. Agriculture Materials Company Limited and Salt Trading Corporation Limited said that only 60 percent of the demand of fertilizer as per the quota fixed by the government will be met.

Both the organizations provide it to the cooperatives and dealers of the respective municipalities on the recommendation of the local municipality. Chemical fertilizers are distributed according to the local level quota based on the area of cultivable land, records of the consumption of fertilizers in the last fiscal year and crop density. Around 109 dealers provide chemical fertilizers in 14 municipalities of the district.

Durga Prasad Pandey, chief of The Agricultural Materials Company Limited Provincial Office, Birgunj, said that 10,947 metric tons of urea, DAP and potash fertilizers were sold in Parsa in the fiscal year 2081÷82 BS. Of this, 5,365 metric tons of urea fertilizer and 5,126 metric tons of DAP fertilizer have been sold.

Similarly, 435 metric tons of potash fertilizer has been distributed. It also distributed 20.90 metric tonnes of lime during the same period. Chief Pandey said that farmers have been using chemical fertilizers in large quantities in recent years, so there is a lot of difficulty in getting the limited quota of fertilizers.

Amoj Lamichhane, chief of Salt Trading Corporation Limited Madhes Provincial Office, said that only 60 percent of the demand in Parsa is supplied with fertilizer. “According to the government quota, only about 9 per cent fertilizer is available in Parsa. However, it is said that there is a shortage of fertilizers even after distributing about 13 percent of fertilizers here.

There is also a shortage of fertilizer due to excessive use of fertilizer. He said that urea fertilizer is also used in cash crops like sugarcane, tobacco and fish farming. Salt Trading has distributed 2,179.200 metric tons of urea fertilizer in Parsa in the last fiscal year 2081/82 BS.

Similarly, DAP fertilizer was distributed 559.400 metric tons and potash fertilizer 77.650 metric tons in the same period. In the previous fiscal year, Salt Trading had distributed 2,446.800 metric tonnes of urea fertilizer, 2,514 metric tonnes of DAP fertilizer and 99.200 metric tonnes of potash. Parsa: The District Administration Office, Parsa has directed the cooperatives and dealers to streamline the chemical fertilizer distribution system.

It has also requested the government to develop a systematic distribution system as there are complaints about the chemical fertilizer distribution system distributed by the agricultural cooperatives at cheaper prices. Chief District Officer of Parsa, Ganesh Aryal, said that the Agriculture Users’ Committee has been distributing chemical fertilizers to agrovet companies at cheap and affordable prices.

“There have been complaints that some agriculture consumers’ committees are distributing fertilizers at cheaper prices by not providing them to the real farmers,” he said, adding, “The administration will regularly monitor the fertilizer distribution system and bring the culprits to justice.” CDO Aryal called for creating a systematic distribution structure by adopting transparency in the distribution of chemical fertilizers.