He has been visiting District Agriculture Office of Sunsari every day hoping to get fertilizers, but in vain. "Fertilizer is not available anywhere."[break]
Tired of waiting for fertilizers, Jitendra Rajbanshi, a farmer of Hattimuda VDC of Morang, is now collecting cow dung to fertilize his fields. "I cannot wait any longer," he said. "I am no longer hopeful that the government will provide us fertilizers."
In Jhapa district, farmers have been using improved seeds for the last few years; which means they need more fertilizers. But they have no fertilizers. They have now taken to the streets demanding fertilizers.
The monsoon is in full swing and rice saplings are already ready, but farmers in the east, which produces more food than any other region, are still unable to plant rice. The eastern regional office of Agriculture Inputs Company Ltd, which sells DAP-potash and urea, says the farmers will still have to wait for a few weeks to get fertilizers.
The company has recently received 200 sacks of fertilizers. But the company is in a dilemma over whether to sell them. "Only 200 sacks of fertilizers are simply not enough," says an official. "There will be a problem if we give fertilizers only to some farmers. This is why we have not distributed fertilizer so far."
According to Dinesh Kumar Shrestha, eastern regional chief of the company, Mineral and Metal Trading Corporation (MMTC) in Asam, India failed to supply fertilizers. "Although we made payment three months ago, we are yet to receive our order," Shrestha said. "This is why our go-downs are still empty."
Manoj Yadav, chief of District Agriculture Office (DAO), Morang said fertilizer shortage is likely to hamper the output of paddy crop. "The paddy crop output may decline by 25 per cent this year due to fertilizer shortage," Yadav said. "Local farmers are now using compost fertilizer. But the use of compost fertilizer is not as effective as chemical fertilizer.
Fertilizer shortage is worse in Tarai districts than the hill districts in the east. "In the hills, the fertilizer shortage is not as worse as in the Tarai districts," said Shrestha
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