Budhu Ram Tharu of Madhuban-6 has gotten into the daily routine of scouring the Agriculture Inputs Company (AIC) in Gularia for chemical fertiliser. However, he is forced to return home empty-handed every time.

Like Tharu, a large number of farmers are forced to make a daily routine to visit the AIC office—the supplier of the state-subsidised chemical fertiliser. Shortage of chemical fertiliser has worried many farmers during the prime winter crop plantation.

After paddy harvest, farmers prepare their land for the cultivation of cash crops like potatoes, lentils, mustard and vegetables.

However, shortage of farm’s vital inputs has worried them. Cultivation of wheat is yet to begin which requires a huge quantity of fertiliser. Some farmers have been buying fertiliser from India. The illegally imported fertiliser is cheaper but is of substandard quality. Narhari Pokhrel, chief of AIC in Bardiya, said they would require 1,500 tonnes of urea and 1,000 tonnes of DAP to immediately avoid the crisis. “We have requested the AIC’s regional office in Bhairahawa to provide the required quantity,” he said. Sources said that the fertiliser consignment allotted for Bardiya has been diverted to Kailali and other districts in the western region under the directive of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to woo voters in the face of upcoming elections.

However, Rajendra Karki, regional manager of AIC regional office in Bhairahawa refuted the claim. “The AIC’s fertiliser consignment has reached Birgunj from Kolkata in India. Fertiliser will reach Bardiya within a week.”

Nepal has requested India to provide chemical fertilisers through a government-to-government deal to prevent a possible shortage during the winter growing season.