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Farmers are increasingly using Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) to produce crops thanks to increased subsidies and price cuts by the government, enabling growers to apply the fertiliser that contains both the nitrogen and phosphate needed to ensure better plant growth.
DAP usage grew more than twice in volume to 14.24 lakh tonnes in the fiscal year of 2020-21 compared to 6.58 lakh tonnes five years ago.
Growers also increased the application of Muriate of Potash (MoP) by 10 per cent to 7.98 lakh tonnes in the last fiscal year from 7.26 lakh tonnes in 2015-16, according to data from the agriculture ministry.
The application of urea has remained almost unchanged, with analysts saying this trend indicates a more balanced use of fertiliser. “This is good for crop yields,” said AMM Shawkat Ali, a former food adviser to the caretaker government.
During 2020-21, the overall use of subsidised fertilisers amounted to 52 lakh tonnes. Of this amount, the application of urea was 24.63 lakh tonnes, up 8 per cent from five years ago. The use of Triple Superphosphate (TSP) dropped 28 per cent to 5.22 lakh tonnes during the period.
Producers mainly apply chemical fertilisers to produce dry season crop, such as boro rice. Between July 1 and February 15 this fiscal year, the overall use of subsidised fertilisers stood at 43.56 lakh tonnes.
Ali said the use of DAP and MoP was previously low because of higher prices. So, growers used more urea considering its comparatively cheaper cost.
To cut this dependence on urea, the government started reducing the price of non-urea fertilisers, namely TSP, DAP and MoP, from 2009.
“So, farmers got a huge boost after the government hiked the subsidy for the input and slashed prices to Tk 16 per kilogramme in 2019-20 from Tk 25 per kg earlier,” said a senior official of the agriculture ministry.
“As a result, the use of DAP jumped, indicating that we are moving towards more balanced fertiliser use,” he added.
Data on boro rice production from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics showed that the yield per hectare has grown considerably since 2015-16.
Anwar Faruque, a former agriculture secretary, said the use of fertilisers has become much more balanced and as a result, soil health improved and led to increased yields. The government provided Tk 7,420 crore as subsidies for fertilisers in 2020-21 to keep crop production costs low and encourage growers.
The government has allocated Tk 9,500 crore in the current fiscal year to provide the input at reduced prices.
The amount of subsidy is likely to be Tk 28,000 crore by the end of the fiscal as prices of fertiliser soared abnormally in 2021, Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque said recently. For example, prices of DAP doubled to $601 per tonnes in 2021 from $312 the previous year, according to World Bank Commodities Price Data.
(TDS)
