Farmers get �poor quality� fertiliser

Bangladesh Fertiliser Association (BFA) has been giving dealers ‘poor quality’’ moistened and hard urea fertiliser that was produced 12 years ago.  About 12,000 tonnes of urea fertiliser worth Tk17 crores, stored in the warehouse, is being distributed to the dealers in Kushtia, Chuadanga, Meherpur and Jhenidah districts.  Senior vice-president of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) Fertiliser Dealer Association in Jhenidah Anwarul Islam Rabi said the BFA distributes fetriliser among 216 appointed dealers in four districts from here at a fixed rate. The poor quality fertiliser that has formed into chunks is being distributed among the dealers ahead of Boro paddy cultivation season. Each chunk is about five to six kilograms in weight. The farmers are compelled to purchase such cement.
Although the matter has been brought to the notice of the BFA authorities time and again there is thing done regarding the matter, Rabi said. According to Kaliganj BFA sources, more than 13,000 tonnes of fertiliser is stored in the warehouse against the capacity of 12,000 tonnes.
Each tonne of urea fertiliser is sold at Tk 14,000 from the warehouse. The price of a kilogram of fertiliser is Tk 14 there. The dealers are facing troubles when the farmers buy it from them. They have to break the chunks into small pieces before selling to farmers. Anwar Hossain, a fertiliser dealer in Kaliganj, said about 100 trucks of fertiliser is supplied to the dealers a day, especially during the crop production seasons.
According to some labourers, the unpacked urea gets damaged every year during the ‘dull season’, but this year the amount of damage is huge because the wall of the warehouse has collapsed four times. Dealer Sagar Hossain said the farmers are now reluctant to buy the damaged fertiliser causing financial losses to them
Meanwhile, Member of Parliament and Awami League leader Anwarul Azim Anar visited the warehouse and ordered the concerned authorities  not to sell the fertiliser to the peasants. Deputy Director of the department of agricultural extension (DAE) in Jhenidah Shah Md Akramauzzaman said the solid chunks of fertiliser are not harmful for crops, but it should contain 46 percent of nitrogen. Abu Sayeed, in-charge of the warehouse, said  ‘We sometime store excess fertiliser to meet the demand of the farmers. It has become hard because it has been stored there for quite some time. Due to wall collapse following excessive rain, some fertiliser got wet, but its quality has not deteriorated.”

Farmers get �poor quality� fertiliser

Bangladesh Fertiliser Association (BFA) has been giving dealers poor quality moistened and hard urea fertiliser that was produced 12 years ago. About 12,000 tonnes of urea fertiliser worth Tk17 crores, stored in the warehouse, is being distributed to the dealers in Kushtia, Chuadanga, Meherpur and Jhenidah districts. Senior vice-president of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) Fertiliser Dealer Association in Jhenidah Anwarul Islam Rabi said the BFA distributes fetriliser among 216 appointed dealers in four districts from here at a fixed rate. The poor quality fertiliser that has formed into chunks is being distributed among the dealers ahead of Boro paddy cultivation season. Each chunk is about five to six kilograms in weight. The farmers are compelled to purchase such cement. Although the matter has been brought to the notice of the BFA authorities time and again there is thing done regarding the matter, Rabi said. According to Kaliganj BFA sources, more than 13,000 tonnes of fertiliser is stored in the warehouse against the capacity of 12,000 tonnes. Each tonne of urea fertiliser is sold at Tk 14,000 from the warehouse. The price of a kilogram of fertiliser is Tk 14 there. The dealers are facing troubles when the farmers buy it from them. They have to break the chunks into small pieces before selling to farmers. Anwar Hossain, a fertiliser dealer in Kaliganj, said about 100 trucks of fertiliser is supplied to the dealers a day, especially during the crop production seasons. According to some labourers, the unpacked urea gets damaged every year during the dull season, but this year the amount of damage is huge because the wall of the warehouse has collapsed four times. Dealer Sagar Hossain said the farmers are now reluctant to buy the damaged fertiliser causing financial losses to them Meanwhile, Member of Parliament and Awami League leader Anwarul Azim Anar visited the warehouse and ordered the concerned authorities not to sell the fertiliser to the peasants. Deputy Director of the department of agricultural extension (DAE) in Jhenidah Shah Md Akramauzzaman said the solid chunks of fertiliser are not harmful for crops, but it should contain 46 percent of nitrogen. Abu Sayeed, in-charge of the warehouse, said We sometime store excess fertiliser to meet the demand of the farmers. It has become hard because it has been stored there for quite some time. Due to wall collapse following excessive rain, some fertiliser got wet, but its quality has not deteriorated.