Dinajpur farmers forced to buy coagulated fertiliser

An existing policy is forcing the farmers in Dinajpur to buy coagulated Urea fertiliser from state-run Bangladesh Fertilizer Association (BFA), which farmers claim is harming their crops.

Speaking to The Business Post, a number of farmers claimed they are required to purchase at least 20 per cent coagulated fertilisers – which were stored in warehouses for more than six years – along with regular ones.

The BFA imported around 20,000 to 22,000 tonnes of Urea fertiliser in 2015. Aside from being stored for more than half a decade, the fertiliser also became submerged in the devastating flood of 2017, causing coagulation. It is being sold to prevent government losses, insiders said.

Addressing the issue, Faridul Islam, general secretary of Dinajpur BFA, however said the coagulated fertiliser is still viable for use.

He added, “We have notified the Dinajpur District Administration and Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) offices about the farmers’ disinterest in buying coagulated fertilisers.

“We also requested them to supply good-quality fertiliser to us so that we can distribute it to the farmers, but they are yet to provide a reply in this regard.”

Mentioning that the BFA is just following a government directive, Faridul said, “We have to give the farmers 20 per cent of the old fertiliser with 80 per cent of the new ones. But farmers are reluctant to buy the old fertiliser.

“If we cannot sell these stored fertilisers, the government will count losses.”

According to the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) sources, whereas ordinary dealers can buy each sack (50 kilograms) of Urea fertilizer for Tk 800, dealers working under the BFA can buy the same amount for Tk 700.

Local dealers said they usually make a profit of Tk 90 to Tk 100 per sack of Urea fertilizer. But they are now counting a loss of Tk 40 to Tk 50 for the coagulated fertilizers as farmers are not interested in buying these.

Awal Haque, a farmer in Makihar village under Sadar upazila said most farmers take these fertilizers on credit from the warehouse. This is why they are bound to take whatever the BFA authority provides to them.

Manohar Alam, another farmer from the same area, said they are facing a hard time processing the coagulated fertilisers as it does not spread easily on the ground.

“These coagulated fertilisers are harmful to our farmland and also difficult to spread over the crops. If we spread too much anywhere near the crop in error, the crop will be ruined,” said Nasimul Alam, a farmer of Dangapara village.

Addressing the issue, Prof Jahidul Islam from the Department of Chemistry at Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, said although the stored fertilisers are coagulated, their viability remains intact.

“Therefore, the farmers would obtain the same benefits from it as they should from new fertilisers,” he said.

Dwijendranath Roy, deputy chief (chemical) of BFA said, “We are directed by the Ministry of Industries to distribute 20 per cent of the old fertilisers with 80 per cent of the new ones, to mitigate the government’s losses.”