There is no shortage of fertiliser in the country. Stocks are higher than ever before. There is sufficient stock of all types of fertiliser in the country as against the demand. A total of Tk 30,000 crore is being spent on fertiliser subsidy this year, which is four times more than the last year.
Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzque made the remarks after a meeting of the National Coordinating and Advisory Committee on Fertilisers on Tuesday. Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun was present at the meeting.
The Minister has also said, “Due to the Covid-19 situation, the prices of fertilisers worldwide have gone up dramatically. On the other hand, the supply of fertiliser is being disrupted due to the Ukraine-Russia crisis. Tk 30,000 crore is being spent on fertiliser subsidy this year. In the last fiscal year 2020-21, the subsidy was Tk 7,717 crore.”
The minister also said, “We have reviewed our fertiliser stock today. We do not have any fertiliser crisis at the moment. We need 2.6 million tonnes of urea, 7 lakh tonnes TSP, 16 lakh tonnes DAP and 7 lakh tonnes MOP fertiliser every year. We have no problem with our stock. So far, stocks of TSP, MOP and DAP are higher than ever before. We also have sufficient urea fertiliser stock.”
The government will be by the side of the farmers affected by the sudden flas flood in Haor areas. A programme is being taken to give incentives to these farmers in the coming Aus season.
Boro paddy has been damaged in Haor area of Sunamganj on the slope of upstream. State Minister for Water Resources Zahid Farooq said at a function on Monday that about 5,000 hectares of boro paddy had been damaged in Haor.
While asking how much boro paddy was damaged in Haor, the agriculture minister replied, “It is yet to know. As the cloud is still there, there are possibilities of rain on April 14/15 in Cherrapunji and Meghalaya. Still there are uncertainties.”
“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina suggested us to be prepared to deal with any situation," he said.
“We produce 20 million tonnes of paddy every year, of which 1.2 million tonnes produced in the haor. This amount of paddy could be damaged. This 12 lakh tonnes is a big deal for Bangladesh,” he further added.
Asked if the affected farmers in Haor would be given incentives, Abdur Razzak said, “Of course, we have planned incentives for our farmers. We have already taken steps to provide incentives for Aus season. This government is always beside the farmers.”
