Kavre, June 1

Kavre district has been facing acute shortage of fertiliser for the past three months after  contractors cut the supply.

The district is regarded as the basket for vegetables and other crops. Farmers reeling under fertiliser shortage are worried as the season for planting paddy begins. “There is no fertiliser in the market even as the plantation season approaches. The maize crop has been ruined due to lack of fertiliser,” said Ramesh Poudel, a local  of Kuntabesi. He said local farmers are reeling under fertiliser shortage ever since the unofficial border blockade.

Ashok Khadka, manager of Agriculture Inputs Company Limited, Kavre said chemical fertiliser crunch has hit the district hard for long. “Local farmers in the district have not been able to procure fertilisers easily, though the office has informed the concerned authority time and again,” he said. Khadka added that the shortage of fertiliser has hit farmers hard after contractors had stopped supplying it in Kavre.

It is said the corporation has to supply five metric tonnes in Sindhupalchowk and Kavre districts for this season. The demand for Urea and DAP is high this season.

Earlier, the farmers were compelled to go to Birgunj to purchase fertilisers after AICL did not provide needed fertilisers. It is said the farmers have been facing problems due to negligence on the part of contractors.