DOTI, JULY 2
Farmers here are worried about the shortage of chemical fertiliser. They have, however, started rice plantation despite the fact that chemical fertilisers have not arrived.
They are worried about the government's failure to supply fertiliser even during the peak time for cultivation.
The Agriculture Inputs Company, Dipayal, has admitted that they cannot supply necessary amount of chemical fertiliser as there has been little import from India.
At least 10,898 hectares of land is cultivated for rice plantation in the district, according to Province Agriculture Directorate, Dipayal. So far, only 25 per cent of the land has been cultivated.
A resident from Silgadhi Municipality, Karna Bahadur Kathayat, expressed sadness that they would not have good harvest of rice because urea fertiliser was not available during plantation. "When there is no fertiliser during cultivation, how can crops yield good harvest," he worried, adding, it would be difficult to survive being a farmer.
It is the peak season for rice plantation, but scarcity of fertiliser has afflicted farmers much, said Suraj Bahadur BK from Pipalla of Dipayal.
"Whose failure is it that fertiliser is not available," he wondered.
The farmers here have blamed the Agriculture Inputs Company, the agency for managing chemical fertiliser in the district, for the unavailability of the fertilisers.
Another farmer Ram Bahadur Damai from Kalagadh of Shikhar Municipality said, "Rice saplings planted three weeks back have started wilting."
Although there is scarcity of urea, DAP and potassium fertilisers in the district, plenty of rainfall has taken the farmers to their fields for rice plantation.
Senior officer at Province Agriculture Directorate at Dipayal, Yagya Raj Joshi, suggested that farmers use compost to fulfil the need.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 3, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
