At least 2,000 tonnes of urea fertiliser of Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation in Kurigram could turn unusable for lack of proper storage facilities.
The fertiliser has been left in the ground, only covered with tarpaulin, because of a shortage of storehouse.
There is a buffer depository in the district which has a capacity of 2,000 tonnes but it is very old.
Besides, almost 6,000 tonnes of fertiliser has been stocked in the district in the current season and Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation officials are in trouble over finding a way to properly preserve it.
Dulal Hossain, a local fertiliser trader, said urea gradually solidifies if not stored inside and farmers are unwilling to buy the fertiliser in that form.
General Secretary of Bangladesh Fertiliser Dealers Association’s Kurigram office, Golam Mostafa, said it will be a big trouble for traders as farmers will be reluctant to buy solid fertiliser.
“We have been facing this problem for long and constructing a new depository in the district is an urgent issue that the authorities should pay attention to,” he said.
Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension’s Kurigram office, Md Shawkat Ali Sarker, admitted that failure to preserve fertiliser in a storehouse would lead to loss of quality and efficiency, but did not comment on whether a new storage facility would be built.