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Download PDF Suspension of the conventional system of fertiliser distribution without introducing a new system has triggered a distribution crisis of the farm input across the country.
The government suspended involvement of around 25,000 small traders in fertiliser distribution from March this year to introduce ‘farmers card system’. But later the initiative for card system was suspended until April next year due to recurring floods this year.
Lack of coordination between Agriculture Extension Department and UNO (upazila nirbahi officer) office in different upazilas deepened the fertiliser distribution problem although the government says it has sufficient stock of fertiliser.
The transitional pause thus created a vacuum in fertiliser distribution system as farmers now need to collect fertiliser allocation slip from upazila agriculture office or union parishad chairman to buy subsidised fertiliser from dealers.
“I had to visit the agriculture office twice for collecting allocation slip and then queued up on four days to collect fertiliser from the dealer. But the dealer informed me that he did not have fertiliser for distribution,” Abdul Baset, a farmer at Fulbari village in Bogra Sadar upazila, said yesterday.
Like Baset, thousands of farmers are facing the same problem in different districts in northern, western and north-east regions of the country, especially where farmers want to cultivate crops in advance to make up the losses caused by floods.
In such a situation, a good number of fertiliser dealers are now planning to switch over to other businesses since so long they were depending on the small traders for their fertiliser business.
“Over 50 percent of the 4,600 dealers are yet to collect their allocated fertiliser from mills and buffer stocks despite the huge demand for it in their areas,” an official of the agriculture ministry working at its fertiliser monitoring centre said, preferring anonymity.
“As the government suspended involvement of small traders, the dealers are facing difficulties in managing their fertiliser business,” the official added.
Besides, a section of dealers are apprehending decrease in their profit margin in future if the government introduces ‘farmers fertiliser card’ system next year.
Locally influential businessmen with political backing are fertiliser dealers and most of them have now engaged in other businesses, naturally losing interest in the dealership, an official of Agriculture Extension Department pointed out.
Moreover, a good number of dealers have allegations of smuggling fertiliser, and of mismanagement against them. They fear losing dealership from next fiscal year.
The government will review the dealership contract before introducing farmers card system next year, and those having allegations of corruption and mismanagement against them will not get renewal of dealership, a high official of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation said.
Moreover, the government plans to have dealers in each union to ensure smooth distribution of fertiliser from next year. Many of the dealers now cover three to four unions.
The government has set a target of making 28.18 lakh tonnes of urea available this fiscal year, which is 2.8 lakh tonnes higher than that in previous fiscal year.
Until October of this fiscal year, there were 4.2 lakh tonnes of urea in the government stock against 2.8 lakh tonnes during the corresponding period of last fiscal year.
The government supplied 7.71 lakh tonnes of urea against the demand of 7.64 lakh tonnes during July-October period this year.
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