Production halt at Jamuna fertiliser worries farmers

The authorities of Jamuna Fertiliser Factory in Jamalpur decided to put a stop to fertiliser production on June 21 due to load-shedding and a fuel-gas crisis, which may lead to a shortage of supply to at least 21 surrounding districts.

Farmers of Jamalpur, Sherpur, Tangail and other districts of the northern region are concerned about an acute shortage of urea fertiliser in the upcoming Aman paddy cultivation season as a direct impact of the production shutdown at Jamuna Fertiliser Factory.

However, the factory authorities said that the government has decided to import fertiliser and as such there will be no crisis.

Jamuna Fertiliser Factory, established in 1990, is an organisation of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) with a Key Performance Indicator-1 (KPI) standard. The factory had a production capacity of 1,700 tonnes at the beginning but due to gas shortage and reduced mechanical capacity, it came down to 1,300 tonnes of fertiliser per day.

In FY21, 2,44,255 tonnes of fertiliser were produced in the factory against a production target of 3,30,000 tonnes.

Jamuna Fertiliser Factory supplies fertiliser to 21 districts of the northern region. Dealers will have to import fertiliser with additional costs from other districts if the factory is not operational.

The company has been unable to continue production due to excessive load-shedding and gas shortages for over a month. The factory authority decided to shut down production due to safety concerns as the supply of gas was inadequate.

Fertiliser production requires 40 to 45 million cubic feet of gas per day but the supply was gradually decreasing, causing production to fall short of the target.

According to the factory authorities, they expect to start production again after September if the fuel crisis is over and until then, the domestic demand for fertiliser can be met through import.

Moazzem Hossain, president of Jamuna Fertiliser Factory’s Collective Bargaining Agent (CBA), said the factory cannot return to production since the government decided to reduce gas supply to the factory.

“We expect the situation to be resolved by September and fertiliser production will resume,” he said.

The workers of the factory have become unemployed since production was halted over a month ago. They are worried about making a livelihood amid the rising commodity prices.

ABM Noor Islam, a technician of Tarakandi Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company, said, “We are unable to supply gas as required to Jamuna Fertiliser Factory due to low gas pressure.”

The authorities said gas cannot be supplied properly due to frequent load-shedding.

Sarishabari upazila Agriculture Officer Abdullah Al Mamun said fertiliser shortage will impact crop production in the region negatively leading to severe financial losses.

“The farmers of this region prefer fertiliser from Jamuna factory as it is relatively cheap and of good quality. The crop production target will not be met if there is a fertiliser crisis,” he said.

Abdul Hakim, general manager (operation) of Jamuna Fertiliser Factory, said, “Production has remained stopped since June 22 as the gas distribution company is unable to supply gas. A shortage in fertiliser supply will affect farmers and traders of the area.”

“There is a risk of damage to the valuable machinery and parts of the factory if the gas supply is not up to a proper measure. We are uncertain about when the production will start again,” he added.