The balanced use of fertilizer can increase the production of crops by 8% to 14% and save Tk20,000 crore in a year, said researchers.
They said the government has so far provided Tk8,000 crore yearly as subsidy in the fertilizer sector and the amount of subsidy now stands at Tk30,000 crore due to the rise in fertilizer prices in the international market.
They were speaking at a program on “Fertilizer Policy Dialogue” held at the auditorium of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council (BARC) on Tuesday.
The researchers and experts urged the farmers to use fertilizer in a moderate and balanced way in their fields.
Wahida Akter, secretary to the Agriculture Ministry, said the government has taken a decision to reduce the use of urea fertilizer after increasing the use of DAP fertilizer. “But it is noticed that the use of urea is increasing day by day alongside the use of DAP. As a result, the fertilizer is being misused and the cost of import if rising,” she said.
If farmers use increase use of DAP fertilizer by one kg on a land they can cut urea fertilizer use by 400 grams, she said.
Wahida also stressed the need for making farmers conscious about balanced use of fertilizer after checking the soil on regional basis.
Besides, a keynote paper with recommendations of Professor of Australia's Murdoch University and also the project leader Dr Rechard W Bell was presented at the dialogue where it is shown that through balanced fertilizer use, the production of paddy will be increased by more than 7.5 million tons in a year.
