While paddy planting is in full swing, farmers in Salyan who are not cooperative shareholders have not been able to easily obtain chemical fertilizers.

Because cooperative organizations responsible for selling fertilizers do not provide fertilizers to non-shareholders, other farmers have not been able to access fertilizers easily. Farmers are forced to wander from place to place in search of fertilizers. Even a week after completing the planting, Krishna KC of Sharada Municipality–8 said he has not been able to get urea or DAP fertilizer. He complained that although he went to various cooperatives to buy fertilizer, he was denied because he was not a member. “I went repeatedly to the cooperatives in Srinagar and nearby areas. I tried to get help from acquaintances, but it was of no use,” he said. “Because I couldn’t apply fertilizer, the paddy crop has not thrived.” He said he has always used chemical fertilizers in his fields, and since his fields are far from home, he cannot carry manure there.

Currently, 29 cooperatives in the district’s 10 local levels are selling chemical fertilizers. Of these, seven are small farmers’ cooperatives. According to local demand, Salt Trading Corporation Salyan, Agriculture Inputs Company Surkhet, and Dang have provided 1,422 metric tons of urea, 1,124 metric tons of DAP, and 383 metric tons of potash to the cooperatives, but farmers have been affected because they are still unable to obtain fertilizers easily.

Bhim Bahadur Basnet, a farmer from Kumakh Rural Municipality–2, said he too could not get fertilizer because he was not a cooperative member. After failing to get urea and DAP, he said he had to order them from Sallibazar and Chaurjahari. There, a sack of urea cost 1,050 rupees and DAP 2,550 rupees, but he had to pay an additional 1,000 rupees for transport, he said. He accused the cooperatives of creating more problems for farmers by manipulating the process to increase their own share membership.

Rajendra Bhandari, vice president of the Salyan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that farmers are facing greater difficulties because cooperatives entrusted with selling fertilizers by the Agriculture Inputs Company and Salt Trading Company have imposed various conditions. He said that although the government claims there is no fertilizer shortage, many farmers in the district have complained that they cannot get fertilizer because cooperatives do not provide it to non-shareholders.

Nabin Bhandel, chairperson of Jansevi Agriculture Cooperative Institution Srinagar, said that they give first priority to their shareholders in distributing chemical fertilizers, but also provide fertilizer to non-members as much as possible. He said that as farmers have come to rely solely on chemical fertilizers for cultivation and demand has increased compared to the past, they have not been able to supply all farmers as needed due to insufficient availability.

Surendra Mahaseth, head of Salt Trading Salyan, said that the manipulation to increase membership has caused problems for farmers who are not members. He said that although cooperatives have been manipulating to increase membership, no one has filed a complaint, so action could not be taken. In Salyan’s 10 local levels, Agriculture Inputs Company Surkhet has been providing 70 percent and Salt Trading 30 percent of the fertilizer to cooperatives. “Salt Trading has already provided 1,142 metric tons of fertilizer to cooperatives,” he said. He stated that the office currently has 50 sacks of urea, 80 sacks of DAP, and 540 sacks of potash in stock.