As the main rice planting season approaches, 18,000 metric tons of urea fertilizer is required in West Nawalparasi, but only 500 tons are currently available.
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Bheshraj Chaudhary of Ramgram Municipality-13 in West Nawalparasi visits the agricultural cooperative every day in the hope of getting fertilizer. ‘It is too late to plant seeds, there is no way to get fertilizer,’ he said.
Kalauddin Ansari of Ramgram is also suffering the same. ‘When I remember the pain I had to bring a sack of fertilizer from the Indian market last year without getting fertilizer, I feel like not farming at all,’ Ansari said. ‘What will we eat without farming? We have to do whatever we can to make ends meet.’
Last year, the people’s representatives had assured the farmers, who have been facing this problem for years, that there would be no shortage of fertilizer next year. However, this year too, the farmers have not received fertilizer at the time of planting seeds. Now, there is confusion about what will happen at the time of planting rice. ‘Since there is little need for storing seeds, the work was done by keeping cattle manure,’ said local farmer Ramesh Chaudhary, ‘Now chemical fertilizers are essential during the time of sowing and harvesting of rice. But, there is no way to get them.’ He said that last year too, he received only half of what was required.
The agricultural material company has been distributing fertilizers through 77 cooperatives in the district. However, when it does not arrive as per demand, the cooperatives have been facing problems in distributing them. Sanjay Kumar Singh, manager of Adarsh Agricultural Cooperative Society Kunwar, said that even when there is fertilizer in the warehouse, the agricultural material company has not distributed fertilizers and farmers are warning that the cooperative will be surrounded.
According to the Agriculture Jan Kendra Parasi, 18,000 metric tons of urea, 12,000 metric tons of DAP and 5,000 metric tons of potash are required for sowing in the district. However, currently, there are 500 metric tons of urea and 200 metric tons of DAP in stock in the warehouse. Tara Prasad Khanal, manager of the Parasi branch of the agricultural materials company, said that preparations are being made to distribute some of the fertilizer currently in the warehouse to farmers during the paddy sowing season in Ashar.
Paddy is sown in an area of 20,480 hectares in the district. There is a demand for 18,000 metric tons of urea and 12,000 metric tons of DAP fertilizer for that. However, with only 8,000 metric tons of fertilizer being supplied, farmers have been facing shortages every year.
