While farmers are not getting the fertilizer they are looking for, government-subsidized fertilizer is being sold openly in private shops in various municipalities in Bara. Urea, DAP, and potash fertilizers, which are distributed to farmers through cooperatives by agricultural input companies and Salt Trading Corporation, have been found in abundance in Agrovet shops in Bara.

The monitoring team of the Salt Trading Corporation Madhesh Provincial Office, Birgunj, found such a situation during monitoring for three consecutive days from Mangalbadar to Thursday. The team led by Office Chief Amoj Lamichhane found that subsidized fertilizer was being sold and distributed in 11 shops during its monitoring of Kalaiya Sub-metropolitan City on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, it was also found that subsidized fertilizer was being sold in 3 agrovet shops in Mahagadhimai Municipality of Bara and 2 in Adarshkotwal Rural Municipality. According to Lamichhane, urea fertilizer purchased by the cooperative for Rs 750 per bag from agricultural materials and salt is being sold in private shops for Rs 1,000 to 1,100.

Similarly, DAP fertilizer purchased by the cooperative for Rs 2,200 per bag is being sold in private shops for Rs 2,700 to 3,000. Similarly, potash purchased by cooperatives at Rs 1,600 per bag is being sold and distributed in private shops for up to Rs 2,700 per bag.

Lamichhane said that agricultural materials and salt trading distributes fertilizers to farmers through cooperatives rather than through their own stores. However, he said that the fact that cooperatives distribute fertilizers to farmers is being easily sold and distributed through the shops of fertilizer traders has been exposed.

He said that the shops selling subsidized fertilizers have already informed which cooperatives they are getting fertilizers from and such cooperatives will be brought under the ambit of action. Lamichhane said that the traders selling subsidized fertilizers have been warned once and for all not to sell subsidized fertilizers.

Cooperatives showing indifference to quota fertilizer collection

Cooperatives in the districts of Madhesh Province are showing indifference to quota fertilizer collection, and the stock of fertilizers in the warehouses of the Madhesh Provincial Office of the Agricultural Materials Company is increasing. Farmers say that there is an acute shortage of both DAP and urea fertilizers as the wheat crop season approaches.

Durga Prasad Pandey, head of the Birgunj Provincial Office of the Agricultural Materials Company, says that cooperatives in most districts of Madhesh Province have shown apathy in collecting their quota of fertilizers as per the quota they have collected twice in the past month. ‘This is the situation in almost all districts of Madhesh Province,’ he said. ‘Out of the two and a half dozen cooperatives in Birgunj Metropolitan City, only about half a dozen cooperatives have collected their quota of fertilizers so far.’

Pandey claims that even though he personally contacted some cooperative heads and urged them to collect their quota of fertilizers, they have shown apathy.

Due to the rains that accompanied the monsoon a month ago in Madhesh Province, farmers have not been able to sow wheat as water has accumulated in their fields. Pandey says that the demand for fertilizer has been slow this year due to farmers' delay in sowing wheat, so the stock of fertilizer in the province is increasing.

There is sufficient stock of fertilizer

Pandey claims that there is a large stock of both urea and DAP fertilizers in the warehouses of companies in almost all districts of Madhesh Province. On Tuesday, he said that there were 8,000 tons of urea, 13,300 tons of DAP and 1,000 tons of potash fertilizers in the entire province.

He said that there were 3,740 tons of urea, 10,000 tons of DAP, 800 tons of potash and 56 tons of agricultural lime in Birgunj alone. Although fertilizer is being mobilized from the company's warehouses in Birgunj for 15 districts under its jurisdiction, including Madhesh, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces, Pandey says that the stock of fertilizer is increasing instead of decreasing. ‘We are now worried about how to store the fertilizer,’ he said. ‘The company is now facing problems storing the fertilizer as the urea and DAP fertilizer purchased through the global tender are continuously coming in before the old stock is exhausted.’

Fertilizers are continuously coming in

Urea fertilizer of consignment number 128, which is from an international supplier, has started arriving from Monday. Out of the 30,000 tons of urea fertilizer in this consignment, 10,000 tons are expected to arrive immediately. A railway rack of urea fertilizer arrived at Raxaul Railway Station on Monday. Out of the 10,000 tons, the Birgunj Provincial Office will receive 4,000 tons of urea fertilizer.

Similarly, Pandey said that 30,000 tons of urea fertilizer of consignment number 147 have also started arriving gradually. Four racks of urea fertilizer have already arrived under this consignment, which is from India’s IPL company. Out of the 30,000 tons, 11,500 tons of fertilizer will be received by the Birgunj Provincial Office.

Aditya Birla Company's consignment number 1,145 has also started receiving 25,000 tons of DAP fertilizer. Out of this, 9,500 tons of DAP fertilizer will be received by the Birgunj Provincial Office.

Pandey says that 10,000 and 20,000 tons of urea fertilizer have been received by the company's consignment number 1,28 and consignment number 1,46 respectively in the past month. He said that the quota of this fertilizer has been reached.

Farmers complain about the lack of fertilizer

Farmers complain that they are buying fertilizer at high prices due to the lack of fertilizer. Prithvi Sah Kanu, Secretary of the Farmers' Rights Struggle Committee, Parsa, complained that farmers are currently looking for both urea and DAP fertilizers for their wheat crops, but they are not getting government fertilizer. ‘Farmers are buying fertilizer at high prices,’ he said, ‘The Divya Savings and Loan Cooperative Society in my municipality Kalikamai  Rural Municipality has not even brought its quota of fertilizer this year, saying it has not been audited.’