Reducing use of urea fertiliser by 20% will not harm production: Agri minister
Considering the increase in price of urea fertiliser, farmers can reduce its use by 20%, said the Agriculture Minister Mohammad Abdur Razzaque.
"This decrease will not hamper production in any way rather will increase the yield and reduce the farmer's expenses" the minister also said during a press conference at the secretariat on Thursday (4 August).
Excessive use of urea can be very harmful said the minister while adding that the Tk6 per kg increase in urea price will not have any effect on farmers if they reduced its use.
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The price of urea was increased as the global price was increased manifolds.
However, despite the increase of non-urea fertiliser (TSP, DAP, MOP) price by four times in the global market the price was not increased in the country. So, farmers can rely on these fertilisers as well, hinted the minister.
Stating that there is sufficient stock of all kinds of fertilisers in the country at present, the minister said, "We are closely monitoring the matter so that no one can create an artificial crisis anywhere in the country citing the increase in the price of fertilisers." Those concerned will be brought under strict punishment if the price is taken higher by creating an artificial crisis."
Considering the global price hike of urea fertiliser the government raised the price to Tk22 per kilogram from Tk16 for farmers on 1 August.
The current agriculture-friendly government under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reduced the price of fertilisers four times since 2009 and is delivering sufficient fertilisers at the doorsteps of farmers at very low prices.
Meanwhile, di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) fertiliser contains 18% nitrogen or the main ingredient of urea fertiliser.
That is why the government reduced the price of DAP fertiliser from Tk90 to Tk16 per kg to reduce the unnecessary and excessive use of urea fertiliser by increasing the use of DAP.
As a result of this initiative, the use of DAP fertilizer has doubled in the last few years. In 2019, 8 lakh tonnes of DAP was used, currently 16 lakh tonnes are being used.
However, the use of urea fertilizers has not decreased, rather increased further. In 2019, about 25 lakh tonnes of urea was used, and it is estimated that 26 lakh 50 thousand tonnes of urea will be used this year.
On the other hand, the price of fertilisers has increased by about 3-4 times in the international market over the last one year.
As a result, the subsidy given by the government in the country has also increased almost four times. In the fiscal year 2020-21 the subsidy cost for urea was Tk7,717 crore, whereas Tk28,000 crore was spent as subsidy in the financial year 2021-22.
