Balanced use of fertiliser can increase crop production by up to 14%: Researchers

The balanced use of fertilizer can increase the production of crops by 8 percent to 14 percent and save Tk 20,000 crore in a year, said researchers.

They said the government has so far provided Tk 8,000 crore yearly as subsidy for fertiliser and the amount of subsidy now stands at Tk 30,000 crore due to the rise in fertiliser prices in the international market.

They were speaking at a programme on ‘Fertiliser Policy Dialogue’ held at the auditorium of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council (BARC) in Dhaka on Tuesday.

The researchers and experts urged the farmers to use fertiliser in a moderated and balanced way in their fields.

Wahida Akter, secretary of the agriculture ministry, said the government has taken a decision to reduce the use of urea fertiliser after increasing the use of DAP fertiliser.

“But it is noticed that the use of urea is increasing day by day alongside the use of DAP. As a result, the fertiliser is being misused and the import cost is rising,” she said.

If farmers increase the use of DAP fertiliser by a kg on land they can cut urea fertiliser use by 400 grams, she said.

Wahida also stressed the need for making farmers aware of the balanced use of fertiliser after checking the soil on a regional basis.

Besides, a keynote paper with recommendations of a Professor of Australia's Murdoch University and also the project leader Dr. Rechard W Bell was presented during the dialogue where it is shown that through balanced fertiliser use, the production of paddy will be increased by more than 75 lakh tonnes in a year.