Bangladesh has surplus fertiliser stocks, minister says amid crisis talk
Staff Correspondent
Bangladesh has ample fertiliser supplies, with reserves outstripping demand, Agriculture Minister Mohammed Aminur Rashid says.
At the Secretariat on Tuesday, he said stocks were running higher than last year and brushed aside claims of an artificial shortage.
“The confusion being stirred up over a so-called shortage is part of a calculated conspiracy,” he added.
The minister said Bangladesh had not needed to import a single onion so far this year, crediting improved storage technology that now keeps the crop fresh for up to six months, a marked shift from years when poor storage left onions rotting.
According to him, the government plans to build infrastructure capable of storing 300,000 tonnes of onions, while gradually weaning the country off imported jute seeds, onion seeds and ginger.
A new rice variety, BRRI-118, will enter cultivation from next year.
It can be planted 10 to 15 days earlier than usual in haor regions, helping farmers guard their crops against early flooding, Rashid said.
The government is also preparing to switch irrigation pumps to solar power to ease farmers' production costs, with initial groundwork already covering 60,000 to 62,000 pumps nationwide, he added.
