Pricy fertilisers make Aman prospect bleak in Rangpur
Farmers say they cannot afford a TSP bag at Tk 3800
The yield of Aman paddy in Rangpur district is likely to be 30 to 35 percent less than targetted five lakh 50 thousand tonne of paddy as most of the farmers failed to use Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) and Murate of Potash (MoP) in time.
There was not adequate supply of TSP and MoP in July when most of the ropa aman lands are cultivated and about 60 per cent of ropa aman fields in the district was cultivated without TSP and MoP, said farmers and sources at Agriculture Extension Department.
Besides, price of the fertilisers have almost doubled and it seems to frustrate use of fertiliser in the remaining fields of Aman paddy in the district.
Five lakh fifty thousand tonne of paddy yield was expected as 1,44,000 hectares of land in the district was targeted for Aman cultivation this year, Kamal Sharif, deputy director of Rangpur AED, said.
On last Wednesday, 97 BCIC dealers were sanctioned 3,299 tonne of TSP and 2,594 tonne of MoP in July-August installment, he said.
Another AED official, however, said, "Generally farmers use TSP and MoP when they prepare land for Aman cultivation. As 85 percent of the land was transplanted with Aman in July, the new allotment will come to very little use."
Several farmers talking to this correspondent expressed their worry about less production of paddy this season.
"TSP and MoP were not available with the dealers in July and I had to cultivate Aman without TSP and MoP,” said Tafakkharul Islam, a farmer of Mahiganj under Rangpur Sadar upazila.
His neighbouring farmers had also the same experience, he said.
Meanwhile, he BCIC dealers are facing hardship to procure TSP and MoP under the new allotment due to their unusual price hike.
"We are facing fund crisis following price hike of TSP and MoP. We have to buy a bag (50 kg) of TSP at Tk 3,800 against Tk 1800 three months back and a bag of MoP at Tk 2367 against Tk 1400," Golam Mowla, secretary of of Rangpur unit of BCIC Fertiliser Dealers Association, said.
Most of the dealers will fail to procure TSP and MoP under July-August instalment if the banks do not lend them money, he said.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments