Govt agencies pass the buck as yearly fertiliser shortage looms

KATHMANDU, JUN 12 -

Nepali farmers are likely to suffer a severe fertiliser shortage with the onset of the paddy planting season as Agriculture Inputs Company (AIC), the sole supplier, only has a week’s stock. Moreover, the state-owned company has not done anything to import fresh stocks and replenish its store.

And with fertiliser prices rising in the international market, farmers will have to pay more even if AIC manages to import it in time for the planting season. According to AIC, chemical fertilisers have become dearer by Rs 6,000-7,000 per tonne following an appreciation of the US dollar against the Nepali rupee.

Government officials said a shortage of fertilisers during the key paddy planting season could lead to low crop yields in the next fiscal year and worsen food insecurity.

AIC said that it had only 8,000 tonnes of fertilisers in stock, barely enough to fulfil a week’s demand during the paddy sowing season. “Farmers who use fertilisers to boost yields could be forced to go without them this season (June-July) unless the government moves quickly to obtain supplies,” said Sashi Raj Tuladhar, managing director of AIC.

As the monsoon has been late, farmers need to use soil fortifiers to reduce the impact of the delayed rainfall for good yields. “The shortage is not due to funding delays but the global tendering process which takes at least five months,” said Tuladhar. As AIC has not called for tenders to supply fertilisers for the monsoon season, the situation is most likely to worsen. 

AIC officials said that although it currently has Rs 1 billion to procure fertilisers, it failed to invite bids as the Finance Ministry provided about half of the budget late.

“We have no money problems to import fertilisers, the major problem is the importing process,” Tuladhar said. He added that a government-to-government deal (particularly with the Indian government) was the only option to ensure uninterrupted supply as fertilisers could be imported within 15-20 days this way.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Agriculture Development Hari Dahal said that there was no possibility of importing fertilisers for this season unless the government makes a special arrangement through a government-to-government deal.

Rising world prices mean that the budget allocated for fertilisers for the current fiscal year was enough to buy only 149,000 tonnes. The Ministry of Agriculture Development estimates that around 700,000 tonnes fertilisers would be required to fulfil the country’s demand.   

Bungled fertiliser supplies are an annual occurrence in Nepal, but farmers are not much concerned as they routinely buy fertiliser smuggled in from India. AIC is able to supply only 20 percent of the requirement of fertilisers in the country. Contraband from India make up the rest.

According to government officials, the shortage this year could be more severe because India has tightened security particularly to prevent smuggling of fertilisers. In Nepal, private companies do not deal in fertilisers due to the high costs and risk factor. Many traders sell smuggled fertilisers at very high prices and many farmers cannot afford them.

Govt studies new import markets

The Ministry of Agriculture Development has put forward plans to explore new markets to procure chemical fertilisers. With fertiliser procurement from overseas markets taking at least five months, the ministry expects that procurement from the nearer markets would ensure timely delivery. The ministry is preparing to import fertilisers from China and Bangladesh. At a press meet here on Monday, co-spokesperson for the ministry, Tanka Luitel, said preparations were underway to import fertilisers from China. The new imports are meant for next farming season.

Source: The Kathmandu Post