Fertiliser fears grip farmers

Repeated protests, road blockades and confrontations over fertiliser in northern Bangladesh are exposing growing frustration among farmers struggling to secure supplies during the peak Aman cultivation season, despite the government’s repeated assurances that the country has adequate stocks.

Farmers in Kurigram, Lalmonirhat and Gaibandha, among other northern districts, say they are failing to obtain urea, TSP, DAP and MOP fertiliser according to their requirements. Some allege that retailers are charging Tk 200-500 more per bag than government-fixed prices.

In several incidents, angry farmers have blocked roads, confronted agricultural
officials and, in one case, allegedly broken into a dealer’s warehouse and taken away bags of fertiliser.

The latest incidents occurred on Monday in Roumari and Bhurungamari upazilas of Kurigram, where large numbers of farmers gathered at distribution points.

In Roumari, farmers began gathering at a fertiliser dealer’s warehouse in Bandaber at around 2am, waiting for distribution to start. When distribution had still not begun by morning, tensions rose.

Between 9am and 10am, some farmers allegedly broke through the tin fencing and doors of Mita Hasan Enterprise and entered the warehouse.

They were reportedly seen carrying bags of fertiliser on their heads and loading them into vans.

Saiful Islam, the dealer’s manager, said about 750 bags had been stored at the warehouse while nearly 1,000 farmers had gathered to collect fertiliser.

He said a dispute erupted over who would receive fertiliser first, prompting the dealer’s staff to seek help from police and the upazila administration. During their absence, farmers allegedly took away 100-150 bags.

Distribution of the remaining stock later resumed under police protection, he said.

Farmers blocked the Lalmonirhat-Burimari highway for about 30 minutes on Sunday, demanding adequate fertiliser supplies and an end to alleged syndication in its distribution.

The farmers placed tree trunks across the highway in front of a Bangladesh Agriculture and Fertiliser Association (BAFA) warehouse in the Mahendranagar area of Lalmonirhat Sadar around 11am.

They said inadequate supplies had prevented them from applying fertiliser to their fields on time and demanded regular distribution in line with local demand.

The blockade led to long queues of vehicles on both sides of the highway. Officials from the district administration and police, along with the upazila nirbahi officer and the local union chairman, went to the spot.

Roumari police station officer-in-charge Kawsar Ali said police had not been informed when distribution began.

After agricultural officials reported that several bags had been taken away, police were deployed to prevent further disorder.

However, Roumari Upazila Agriculture Officer Mahbubul Alam Basunia denied that fertiliser had been looted, describing a video circulating on social media as fake. He said farmers were receiving fertiliser properly in the upazila.

Road blockade
On the same day, farmers in Sonahat of Bhurungamari blocked a road after fearing they would not receive sufficient fertiliser.

The protest began after distribution started at BADC dealer Amzad Hossain’s shop, M/s Afi Sar Ghar.

Farmers demanded that fertiliser be sold through the open market and later surrounded Upazila Agriculture Officer Abdul Jabbar when he arrived.

Police and officials, including Upazila Nirbahi Officer Amrit Deb Nath and Assistant Commissioner (Land) Aminul Haque Tarek, went to the scene.

The situation eased after officials assured farmers that fertiliser would be sold through the open market.

A total of 335 bags of DAP, 95 bags of TSP and 157 bags of MOP were subsequently distributed.

Abdul Jabbar said fertiliser had been allocated on Monday to farmers from four wards of Sonahat union, but farmers from several other wards also arrived in large numbers, causing disorder.

Amrit Deb Nath said the situation was under control and that the upazila fertiliser and seed monitoring committee would meet to decide further measures on open-market sales.

Similar protests have been reported in Nageshwari and Bhurungamari in Kurigram, while farmers in Mahendranagar, Lalmonirhat, blocked the Burimari highway over fertiliser supplies.

Bhurungamari police station OC Azim Uddin said protests over fertiliser were taking place almost every day.

“Somewhere or other, farmers are protesting every day over fertiliser. In some places they are also blocking roads,” he said, adding that police had repeatedly intervened to maintain order.

He said clearer information from agriculture authorities about available stocks and actual demand could help prevent such incidents.

Stocking concerns
Agriculture Minister Mohammad Aminur Rashid recently said the country had more fertiliser than its immediate demand, with around 1.5 million tonnes being maintained as an emergency reserve.

The government has authorised imports from Canada, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Morocco amid volatility in global fertiliser prices and disruptions to domestic production, partly caused by gas shortages.

Officials say imported fertiliser is arriving and being distributed at field level.

The government attributes local disruptions partly to artificial shortages created by dishonest traders and disputes surrounding the new fertiliser dealer policy.

Authorities have launched mobile court operations against illegal stockpiling and supply manipulation, with some dealers fined or having their licences cancelled.

Officials have also urged farmers not to panic-buy fertiliser or act on rumours.
Kurigram Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension Abdullah Al Mamun told The New Nation that the district had sufficient fertiliser.

“As an agriculture officer, the farmers do not need any fertiliser for Aman now.

But they are buying fertiliser for next crops in advance and some rumours are circulating that farmers would not get fertiliser. But we obtained additional stock than demand in the district,” he said.

The continuing unrest suggests that the immediate challenge is not simply maintaining adequate national stocks, but ensuring that fertiliser reaches farmers on time, at official prices and through a distribution system they can trust.