Govt to go tough on standard of organic fertilisers: Matia
Sunday, 7 June 2009
FE Report
Agriculture minister Matia Chowdhury said on Saturday the government would strictly regulate organic fertiliser standards in the country to protect the farmers from being cheated by rogue manufacturers.
Matia said organic fertilisers are good for soil and ecology, but instances are there that some manufacturers have swindled millions of farmers by selling sub-standard so-called natural fertilisers.
"We will have to be very strict in ensuring standards of organic fertiliser. We should not allow farmers to be made paupers by the profiteers," she said in the city.
The minister made the comments at a workshop on licensing issues of organic fertiliser in which manufacturers criticised the government for dragging its feet on issuing fresh permits to their natural fertiliser.
At present manufacturers and dealers need more than 18 months get a license and marketing right for an organic fertliser. Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) mainly issues the license.
The minister said the government would not compromise with the welfare of the farmers, which has prompted them to put in place rigourous testing procedure for issuance of new licences for organic fertiliser.
"But if there is any harassment in the process of issuing licenses for organic fertiliser, the government will try to remove those," the minister promised, but she made it clear that the government would not minimize the time of laboratory and field testing.
"What you are calling harassment, we say cautiousness. It is mandatory," she added.
Organic fertiliser is essential for nourishment of soil, which has been repeatedly exposed to chemical fertiliser such as urea triple super phosphate and potash for decades.
According to a study by BARC, the existence of organic substances has fallen below its absolute minimum level of 1.5 per cent in the country's agricultural land, sparking panic among agri scientists and policy makers.
Between 1967 and 1995, existence of organic substance has declined by up to 36 per cent due to imbalanced use of chemical fertiliser.
The government has in the recent years backed private sector manufacturing and marketing of organic fertiliser with the hope that they would quickly reverse the situation.
But Matia said some companies have cashed in on the situation.
She, however, stressed organic fertiliser is not substitute to chemical fertiliser and there is no such scope to earn higher profit from this sector.
She added that farmers must be educated on balanced use of both organic and chemical fertilizers to yield better crops from their land, while keeping its fertility intact.
Agriculture secretary CQK Mustaq Ahmed chaired the session where industries secretary Dewan Zakir Hussain, chairman of Bangladesh Krishi Bank Khondkar Ibrahim Khaled and top agri economist of Bangladesh Argicultural University Shamsul Alam spoke.
The industries secretary said small and medium enterprises spread throughout the country should be encouraged to produce and market organic fertiliser in their own locality by using local know-how and natural resources.
Agriculture minister Matia Chowdhury said on Saturday the government would strictly regulate organic fertiliser standards in the country to protect the farmers from being cheated by rogue manufacturers.
Matia said organic fertilisers are good for soil and ecology, but instances are there that some manufacturers have swindled millions of farmers by selling sub-standard so-called natural fertilisers.
"We will have to be very strict in ensuring standards of organic fertiliser. We should not allow farmers to be made paupers by the profiteers," she said in the city.
The minister made the comments at a workshop on licensing issues of organic fertiliser in which manufacturers criticised the government for dragging its feet on issuing fresh permits to their natural fertiliser.
At present manufacturers and dealers need more than 18 months get a license and marketing right for an organic fertliser. Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) mainly issues the license.
The minister said the government would not compromise with the welfare of the farmers, which has prompted them to put in place rigourous testing procedure for issuance of new licences for organic fertiliser.
"But if there is any harassment in the process of issuing licenses for organic fertiliser, the government will try to remove those," the minister promised, but she made it clear that the government would not minimize the time of laboratory and field testing.
"What you are calling harassment, we say cautiousness. It is mandatory," she added.
Organic fertiliser is essential for nourishment of soil, which has been repeatedly exposed to chemical fertiliser such as urea triple super phosphate and potash for decades.
According to a study by BARC, the existence of organic substances has fallen below its absolute minimum level of 1.5 per cent in the country's agricultural land, sparking panic among agri scientists and policy makers.
Between 1967 and 1995, existence of organic substance has declined by up to 36 per cent due to imbalanced use of chemical fertiliser.
The government has in the recent years backed private sector manufacturing and marketing of organic fertiliser with the hope that they would quickly reverse the situation.
But Matia said some companies have cashed in on the situation.
She, however, stressed organic fertiliser is not substitute to chemical fertiliser and there is no such scope to earn higher profit from this sector.
She added that farmers must be educated on balanced use of both organic and chemical fertilizers to yield better crops from their land, while keeping its fertility intact.
Agriculture secretary CQK Mustaq Ahmed chaired the session where industries secretary Dewan Zakir Hussain, chairman of Bangladesh Krishi Bank Khondkar Ibrahim Khaled and top agri economist of Bangladesh Argicultural University Shamsul Alam spoke.
The industries secretary said small and medium enterprises spread throughout the country should be encouraged to produce and market organic fertiliser in their own locality by using local know-how and natural resources.