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Aman yield may face setback for use of fake fertilisers

PONUEL S BOSE, back to Narail from Jessore
Markets in Narail, Jessore and other south-western districts are flooded with adulterated fertilisers and pesticides, much to the worry of farmers and agriculturists during the ongoing aman cultivation season.
During the last couple of years, the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) and the district administration sealed 19 registered factories, including 10 zinc fertiliser producers and 9 NPKS fertiliser producers, for manufacturing adulterated fertilisers. They also filed cases against owners of quite a few unauthorised fertiliser factories.
But after getting release on bail, the perpetrators again involved in the unscrupulous act by changingaddresses, sources said.
The Jessore regional office of DAE set this season's aman cultivation target at 6,82,936 hectares of land in 10 south-western districts.
But aman yield is likely to face setback due to widespread use of spurious fertilisers amid inadequate action against the unscrupulous manufacturers and traders, said farmers.
"Dishonest traders mix white cement, brick dust, mosaic powder, zinc sulphate and magnesium sulphate to make so-called zinc fertiliser. They use black cement, white powder and red mud to prepare fake NPKS fertiliser," said Kamrul Hasan Sagor, organic fertiliser producer and analyser of RK Agro.
While visiting markets
at Monirampur upazila, Bag her para upazila, Bagachra Bazar, Navaron Bazar of Jessore district, this correspondent found the traders selling adulter-ated zinc fertilisers openly, attracting customers with colourful advertisements.
"Last year I was cheated to buying adulterated zinc fertiliser that was in attractive packets. The syndicated traders are active to sell adulterated zinc fertilisers in the southern districts," Khondoker Shahed Ali, a farmer of Ujirpur village in Narail Sadar upazila said.
Use of highly contami-
nated zinc sulphate fertilisers containing heavy metals may cause serious health hazards to the people and affect food production and soil fertility, DAE agriculturists said.
Some of the earlier sealed factories are now secretly producing adulterated fertilisers in Shahapur, Gruru1ia , T a 1 b a r i a , Bahadurpur, Khazura and New Market areas in Sadar upazila and selling it at markets in the southwestern districts, sources said.
"Fertilisers are in great demand during the current aman cultivation season
and so, we secretly produce adulterated fertilisers to make high profit," said a fake fertiliser trader seeking anonymity.
According to sources in the DAE regional office in Jessore, there are 38 registered fertiliser factories in Jessore district, including 24 zinc and 14 NPKS producing ones.
"Adulterated fertilisers are very harmful to soil fertility. We have continued raids on different markets to find out the dishonest traders and seal their factories," said Sheikh Hemayet Hossain, deputy director of Jessore DAE.