The state-owned distributor of farm inputs has procured 42,000 liters of liquid fertilizers --Lombrico N (Nitrogen), Lombrico P (Phosphorous), Lombrico K (Potash) and Lombrico-Faliar 986--from Spain imported through All Nepal Tea and Coffee Center, a private sector firm.[break]
“In a bid to reduce higher transportation cost and stave off the recurrent shortage of solid chemical fertilizer, we have started to distribute the liquid fertilizers from seven districts of Tarai and hill where there is high concentration of demands for chemical fertilizers,” Pashupati Gautam, managing director of AIC told Republica.
AIC has set price of the liquid fertilizer at Rs 500 per liter which, Gautam claimed, is cheaper by around Rs 100 per liter compared to that sold by private companies in the market.
The fertilizers are being procured at Rs 410 per liter.
According to Narayan Marasini, AIC´s supply division manager, the company has arranged 7,000 liter of liquid fertilizer for each seven targeted districts including Birgunj, Pokhara, Janakpur, Dhankuta, Sunsari for the first phase.
“The liquid chemical fertilizer is high in nutrients and costs less to transport. It´s easier to distribute among the farmers,” said Marasini. AIC has arranged to distribute the liquid fertilizers through its outlets and cooperative offices in different parts of the country.
The current budget has allocated Rs 2.75 billion for chemical fertilizer subsidy which is sufficient to purchase only 115,000 tons of fertilizers, far less than the annual demand of around 750,000 tons as estimated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC).
Lengthy overseas procurement process, problems in clearing the fertilizers from big ships at the Kolkata port, and a strict ban imposed by the Indian government on the export of locally produced chemical fertilizers have led to a shortage of chemical fertilizers in the country.
Similarly, AIC has already called tender from private producers to supply 5,000 tons of compost (organic) fertilizers which are to be distributed poor farmers at subsidized price.
The government has set aside Rs 100 million to provide subsidy on organic fertilizers, Rs 60 million on equipment and Rs 10 million for organic certification.
Around 10 private companies are already involved in the production of organic fertilizer, mainly vermicompost that is priced between Rs 10 and Rs 25 per kg depending on quality.
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