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This correspondent saw farmers purchasing carbofuran from Barkat Seed Store in Dholagao Bazar, Munshiganj, on January 20.

Posing as a buyer, when this correspondent asked for carbofuran, shop owner Barkat Hossain said one kg of “Corfuran-5G of Corbel Company” would cost Tk 160. “It effectively works on various pests,” said Barkat.

Another pesticide shop owner Rubel Molla said he had a stock of 10 kg carbofuran from three different brands. “Which brand do you want?”

This correspondent visited over eight shops in Munshirhat, Dholagao, and Baligao bazars in Munshiganj and found all of them selling carbofuran.

In Sunamganj’s Jaobazar, Idris Ali, owner of Khan Enterprises, said he had a stock of 70 kg carbofuran from McDonald brand.

“The government banned it, so the stock is low. But we can supply more if the demand increases,” said Idris Ali.

Adam Ali, executive director of Corbel Chemicals International Ltd, said, “We don’t have any stock. Some shops may have our product [carbofuran].”

Mohammed Shaifullah Biswas, head of sales, Marketing & Business at McDonald Bangladesh (Pvt) Ltd, said, “If someone has a packet or two, those could be isolated cases.”

Ariful Islam, who runs an e-commerce shop, told The Daily Star he provides home delivery for agricultural products, including carbofuran.

“We sell carbofuran in retail. We also send the product via courier service to any place in the country.”

According to the Department of Agriculture Extension, 252 companies import, process, and sell carbofuran.

Carbofuran is a generic name that is available in the market under various brand names. It is the most used pesticide in the country due to its affordability and effectiveness.

There were around 3,285 tonnes of carbofuran stock as of June 2023, according to the Pesticide Technical Advisory Committee (PTAC).

PTAC, in a meeting last year, directed all the companies to destroy the leftover stock by October 30 or face legal action, like cancellation of registration.

However, as per Pesticide Wing officials, no drives have been conducted to halt post-ban sales.

Farmers across districts also admitted to using carbofuran due to a lack of awareness.

Aminul Islam, a farmer in Munshiganj Sadar, said he sprayed carbofuran in his potato field to prevent insects. “No officials informed us about the ban,” said Islam.

Echoing Aminul, Rafiqul Islam, a farmer in Saltha upazila in Faridpur, said he used carbofuran on the soil while cultivating onion seeds.

Shamsul Karim, Munshiganj district agriculture officer, said they have not received any instruction from the ministry or the plant protection wings to start an awareness campaign against the banned pesticide.

He said he did not have knowledge of carbofuran being sold in the district.

Faridul Hasan, director and member secretary of PTAC, said they sent a letter to local administrations asking them to take legal action in this regard.

Regarding awareness campaigns among farmers, he said they require a budget for that.