8,000 tonnes of fertiliser at risk of damage
Around 8,000 tonnes of imported urea fertiliser run the risk of getting damaged as these are piled up under open sky beside the BCIC buffer warehouse at Mahendranagar sadar upazila.
The 9,000-tonne capacity warehouse is already crammed with 19,100 tonnes of fertiliser. Hence, the excess bags of fertiliser are being stored in the open, said Abdul Hanif, executive engineer at the warehouse operated by the BCIC (Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation).
Sources and dealers in the district, 51 in total, said that out of the 19,100 tonnes of fertiliser stored inside, 1,000 tonnes of fertiliser made in China were received by the warehouse authorities in damaged condition over the last six months.
The fertiliser grains in the consignment of 20 thousand bags, 50 kg each, became condensed and hardened -- a sign of damage due to contamination with water or moisture, they alleged.
Now, in addition to the 1,000 tonnes of damaged consignment, another 8,000 tonnes of fertiliser may become unusable if measures are not taken to store those inside a proper storage ahead of the rainy season, said the dealers.
Bidubhushon Roy, deputy director of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in Lalmonirhat, said urea fertiliser hardens and loses effectiveness once it comes in contact with water or fog. “Damaged fertiliser will never produce expected output in croplands.”
Farmers do not buy such damaged fertiliser and as a result, the retailers do not buy those from the dealers. The dealers, in anticipation of losing business, already made several complaints to the BCIC authorities, requesting to ensure quality of fertilisers delivered to them from the warehouse, said Abdul Hakim, president of Lalmonirhat District Fertiliser Dealers' Association.
“We definitely don't want to receive damaged fertiliser from the buffer godown as retailers are not interested to receive these from us."
The BCIC authorities however, did not take any measure in this regard, he added.
Requesting anonymity, an official at the BCIC warehouse confirmed that they had to receive a consignment of damaged urea fertiliser from China with direct instruction from the high-ups.
“The urea fertiliser grains in most of these bags have been hardened and these are unusable in crop fields,” he added.
Abdul Hanif, the executive engineer at the warehouse, confirmed that the dealers had been refusing to receive the hardened fertiliser bags.
When contacted, Shamim Ahmed, regional manager of BCIC in Bogra, said, he did not receive any written complaint from Lalmonirhat dealers regarding damaged fertiliser and he would take prompt measures if any such complaint were filed with his office.
He, however, claimed, “The urea grains in some bags might have gotten hard due to rain or fog, but its quality hasn't been affected.”
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