The shortage will hit production of major crops, especially in the Tarai region.[break]
“The country will definitely face shortage of the key agricultural input in the peak season as our stock is almost depleted,” Dr Hari Dahal, joint-secretary and spokesperson of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC), told Republica on Sunday.
Anticipating surge in demand, the Agriculture Inputs Company (AIC) last month had requested the government to release Rs 3.21 billion to purchase additional 100,000 tons for this fiscal year, a senior MoAC official said.
“But the finance ministry turned down the request, stating that there was no fund under the heading for the fiscal year,” agriculture and cooperatives minister Nandan Kumar Datta said.
Rajan Khanal, spokesperson of the finance ministry, confirmed that the ministry had refused additional budget for AIC.
The government had allocated Rs 3.10 billion to AIC in the current fiscal year to purchase and distribute chemical fertilizers to farmers at subsidized rates. “Of the total 150,000 tons that we procured this year, we have already distributed 111,000 tons. We have only about 39,000 tons in stock,” the official said.
Dahal said shortage of chemical fertilizers will hit crop production. “Tarai region will be hit the most because the region consumes more than 60 percent of the fertilizers that the country imports,” he said, adding that the shortage will mainly hit paddy and maize plantation.
Interestingly, the finance ministry that refused additional fund to AIC in the current fiscal year has allocated Rs 4 billion to procure chemical fertilizers in the next fiscal year.
“If the government cannot meet the demand, farmers will be compelled to rely on fertilizers smuggled from India,” officials of MoAC said, requesting anonymity.
Nepal imports chemical fertilizers mainly from India, Turkey and Egypt. Statistics shows demand for chemical fertilizers is increasing at a fast pace. Nepal imported 121,830 tons of chemical fertilizers in 2010/11, which is almost 37 percent more than what the country imported in 2009/10.
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