Agitation in Nilphamari, rationing in Gaibandha

Farmers raising slogans in front of a dealer¿s shop at Nilphamari Bazar yesterday for supply of fertiliser. PHOTO: STAR

Hardly a day passes without reports of demonstration in either districts as fertiliser-hungry farmers, after standing for hours in queues, block roads or besiege dealers' shops.

Our Nilpharmi Correspondent reports: Farmers yesterday put up demonstrations in front of some dealers' shops in the town, but the dealers had nothing to do as there was no supply.

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To face the situation, the authorities yesterday allotted urea to four dealers in the Sadar upazila. The dealers later lifted 640 bags of urea from Parbatipur depot and distributed those among farmers in the afternoon. This was almost a drop in the ocean and many of the farmers returned home empty handed, sources said. There are 74 dealers in Nilphamari district.

Urea is supplied here from Parbotipur, where the buffer stock was exhausted two days ago as carrying contractors refused to carry fertiliser from factory to godowns, demanding higher freight.

Carrying contractors are given Tk 25 per 50 kg bag to carry fertiliser from Parbotipur to Nilphamari, which was Tk 15 earlier. But they are still reluctant to carry fertiliser, Abdul Wahed, president of Nilphamari unit of Bangladesh Fertiliser Association (BFA), told this correspondent.

Wahed said the Parbatipur depot got about 20 truckloads of fertiliser yesterday, which will be exhausted in a day or two. One truck carries about six tonnes of fertiliser.

For the last one month, fertiliser is being given to one dealer alternately in each upazila because of short supply, Wahed said.

On Thursday, Nilphamari BFA urged the agriculture ministry through the Deputy Commissioner to allot additional 2000 tonnes of uera for the district.

The Agriculture Extension Department (AED) also sent a note to the ministry for allotment of 9,000 tonnes of urea for Nilphamari. But the ministry allotted 5,476 tonnes, AED sources said.

The 74 fertiliser dealers in the district got only 3,000 tonnes till 18 march, Wahed said.

Our Gaibandha Correspondent reports:

Crisis of urea is prevailing all over the district during the current peak season of IRRI-Boro cultivation.

Farmers are seen queuing in front of dealers' shops. Many of them return home without fertiliser.

In the district town, only two dealers are allotted 44 tonnes of tertiliser on alternate days, which is scanty to the requirement, dealers said.

The District Fertiliser Monitoring Committee recently said there is no crisis of fertiliser. But farmers in remote areas said they have to buy a 50 kg bag of urea at Tk. 360 to Tk 380 against the government fixed price of Tk 295. The price hike is due to short supply and alleged hoarding by a section of dealers, some retailers at Rupar Bazar in Gaibandha Sadar upazila said.

According to the district Agriculture Extension Department (AED), demand of urea in Gaibandha for March is 11,142 tonnes. But the stock is almost exhausted, sources in AED said. The authorities have a stock of 1,742 tonnes of China-made urea, produced in 2001, which is not taken by farmers as it is not useful for crops, they said.

In view of the short supply, the District Fertiliser Monitoring Committee introduced rationing, giving only one bag to a farmer. This will continue till the next supply from Jamuna Fertilizer Factory reaches, sources said.