KP farmers complain of fertilizer shortage

PESHAWAR: Farmers in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are faced with great difficulties due to fertilizer shortage in the market which is direly needed for the crops.

They fear a low per acre yield if fertilizer was not given to the seasonal crops, including wheat, barley, vegetables and fruit orchards needed before the advent of summer. First, the fertilizer prices went up beyond the reach of ordinary growers and then it disappeared from the market, a grower from Regi area in Peshawar told The News.

He said he visited various localities in the area like Regi, Mathra, Nasir Bagh Road, Shagai and Palosai but fertilizer was not available. He said it was the right time for giving fertilizer to crops and vegetables but urea was not available and the DEP price was beyond the reach of growers.

“Somebody told me to collect Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs) and visit Hashtnagri market where I can get a bag of fertilizer but after standing and waiting in line,” he said adding now one has to stand in line even for buying fertilizer.

If it is the situation in the provincial capital, what one can imagine in remote areas of the province, he added.The man said it was so ironic that for buying everything of daily use right from flour, sugar, ghee, consumers would have to stand in line and wait for hours.

A grower from Swabi, Abdul Razaq told this scribe fertilizer was not available in his village. Urea was not available in the market and DEP, etc was too expensive, he said adding fertilizers were short and being sold in the black market at high prices and the administration all over the province had become a silent spectator.

The grower said the shortage of fertilizer would definitely have a negative impact on the production and the country might face wheat, pulses and other food items’ scarcity leading to further escalation of prices.

A farmer from Nowshera, Saeed Gul, said fertilizer was either short or so expensive that poor growers were not in a position to buy it and as a result the production of the crop would be affected which might increase prices in the near future.

He said it was the government failure to fix prices and ensure the availability of items related to agriculture that was why prices of atta, pulses, vegetable and other foodstuff were so high and beyond the reach of poor people.

An Agriculture Department officer wishing anonymity told The News that the government failure to make sure availability of fertilizer at reasonable rates would badly affect per acre yield of crops in the province.

If fertilizer was not given to the crops in time for growth, the result would be low production and price would go higher due to gap in demand and supply. He said it was the government responsibility to take notice of the situation and ensure the availability of fertilizers at official prices or else food items shortage and further escalation of prices would be there.