MEHERPUR, Sept 20: Unabated sale of adulterated fertilisers are going on in Gangni Upazila of the district.
Knowing nothing about adulteration, innocent farmers are purchasing these harmful fertilisers, and being deceived.
Due to lack of field-level supervision by local agriculture officials, the counterfeit fertilisers are being passed on farmers.
Upazila Agriculture office and others concerned said, action will be taken, subject to investigation, against unscrupulous traders.
Victim Farmer Abu Taher of Shimultala Village in the upazila said, he bought urea and DAP fertilisers from Bamandi Bazar and applied these in his paddy fields. Later his paddy fields became faded.
He was not given any receipt for the purchase. At least five bighas of paddy fields will not yield this year, he added.
Another Monirul of the same village said, he bought fertiliser from the same market and applied in his chilli field; within a week his chilli field got faded.
Later he abandoned his chilli field and brought it under paddy.
Local traders are doing fertiliser and pesticide businesses having approvals from the agriculture office. But they do not have contracts with companies. So distributors are selling adulterated fertilisers and pesticides to them easily.
Besides, BCIC (Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation) fertiliser dealers, wholesalers are also supplying fertilisers to various retailers. The fertiliser and pesticide companies are used to supply pesticides directly through their representatives.
The wholesale traders are giving receipts to the retailers. But retailers are not giving receipts to farmers. The agriculture office is not checking qualities of pesticides available in the market.
Gangni Upazila Agricultural Officer Lovely Khatun said, there are 12 BCIC, 30 BADC (Bangladesh agriculture Development Corporation), 17 retailers and 760 pesticide traders in the upazila.
These traders must have contracts with the companies for selling fertilisers and pesticides, he added.
They are bound to give receipts to purchasers, he maintained.
All traders have been asked to maintain fair sale practice, he said again.
If it is ignored by any one, he will be brought under legal action, he warned.
