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Lack of fertilizer pegs back winter crops preparation
After a disappointing summer crop harvest, Nepali farmers are looking at an equally poor winter harvest as they haven’t been able to get chemical fertilizers due to a prolonged Tarai unrest and fuel shortage.After a disappointing summer crop harvest, Nepali farmers are looking at an equally poor winter harvest as they haven’t been able to get chemical fertilizers due to a prolonged Tarai unrest and fuel shortage.
The farmers have started preparations for the cultivation of winter crops—wheat, barley, vegetable and lentil—but the government can’t get vital farm inputs to them.
“We have adequate stocks of fertilizers, but they have been stuck at Birgunj dry port for the last three months because protestors have prevented their shipment,” said Uttam Kumar Bhattarai, secretary of the Ministry of Agricultural Development.
Besides, fresh consignments of fertilizers are stranded in Kolkata due to India’s unofficial trade embargo. “It’s not a supply problem. We are unable to transport and distribute the fertilizers to the farmers due to the Tarai unrest and fuel crisis,” he said.
The ministry said that 30,000 tonnes of urea and diammonium phosphate (DAP) were piled up at the dry port.
In addition, 50,000 tonnes of chemical fertilizers are stranded in Kolkata. The country’s farmers require an estimated 50,000 tonnes of fertilizers for their winter crops, 80 percent of which is applied to wheat.
According to Narayan Marasini, manager of Agriculture Inputs Company, they managed to bring out 2,000 tonnes of fertilizers from the dry port in the last three days by taking advantage of a lull in the protests during the Chhath festival. “As the protests in Birgunj had stopped briefly for the festival, we managed to bring out a batch of the fertilizers,” he said. “However, it will be difficult to remove more fertilizers from the dry port after Wednesday due to security reason as the protesters will not allow us to do so.”
He added that the 2,000 tonnes of fertilizers removed during the festival had been dispatched to Bhairahawa, Sindhuli and Hetauda for distribution to farmers.
Besides the Tarai unrest, the fuel shortage has crippled transportation. “Delivering fertilizers to various parts of the country during this crucial wheat planting season has become even more difficult,” Marasini said.
As the dry port in Birgunj is filled to capacity and there is no more space for fresh cargo, the fertilizer shipments that have arrived in Kolkata have been left there, he said.
“Despite having adequate stocks of fertilizers, we cannot get them to the farmers who need them, and that could hit wheat production next year,” Marasini said. According to the ministry, wheat production rose 5 percent to 1.97 million tonnes in 2014-15, despite the April 25 earthquake that affected output in most hill districts. Likewise, barley production had increased 7 percent to 37,354 tonnes.
However, the output of summer crops—paddy and maize—in 2014-15 were largely affected due to a late monsoon and untimely rain. The production of paddy dropped 5.1 percent to 4.78 million tonnes. Likewise, maize production dropped 6 percent to 2.14 million tonnes.
The outlook for 2015-16 is even worse as farmers have encountered drought and erratic rain throughout the June-August transplantation period and a subsequent shortage of chemical fertilizers and crop failures.
The crop disaster also reflects the failure of the government’s paddy mission in the first year of its launch.
The government had launched its first ever paddy mission in 12 districts this year to boost production and make the country self-reliant in rice amid an alarming increase in imports.