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February
11, 2001
Kurigram, Feb 10 (UNB) – Cultivation of Irri-boro is being hampered due to sudden price hike of fertiliser in five districts of greater Rangpur.
The price increase, attributed to the illegal hoarding by a section of dealers, will hit the overall production of Irri-boro in next harvesting season, sources said.
The price of fertiliser marked a rise by Tk 50 to Tk 60 per bag in a week.
A bag of 50kg TSP fertiliser is being sold at Tk 660 to Tk 670 against the previous price of Tk 600 while a bag of 50kg SSP sold at Tk 320 to Tk 330 in place of previous price of Tk 250.
Sources said the farmers of Rangpur, Kurigram, Nilphamari, Gaibandha and Lalmonirhat have prepared their lands for cultivating Irri-boro but the high price of TSP and SSP is discouraging them from the move.
The Agriculture Extension Department (AED) set a target to bring 3.49 lakh hectares of land under local variety and high yielding variety this year.
Of the total, 68,500 hectares land will be cultivated in Kurigram, 38,200 hectares in Lalmonirhat, 60,200 hectares in Nilphamari, 90,000 hectares in Gaibandha and 92,300 hectares in Rangpur district.
Farmers said foreign-made fertilisers are available in the market but they prefer the local ones for their good quality.
Production from the lone TSP fertiliser factory of the country in Chittagong is inadequate to meet the demand of the farmers.
In January, 1,476 mts TSP was allocated for Rangpur, 604 mts for Kurigram, 524 mts Lalmonirhat, 1,196 mts in Nilphamari and 1,116 mts in Gaibandha district. The quantity is too small against the demand.
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