Farmers in Kanchanpur face hardship as cooperatives fail to distribute fertilizers on time

Kanchanpur: Farmers in Kanchanpur are facing difficulties due to the unavailability of chemical fertilizers that the government provides at subsidized rates through cooperatives.

The problem has arisen as cooperatives, responsible for distributing subsidized fertilizers, have failed to collect them from agricultural input companies on time. Hemraj Joshi, Head of the Agricultural Input Company Kanchanpur, informed that cooperatives have not come to collect fertilizers even as the time for planting winter crops has already begun.

Although cooperatives registered with the Agricultural Input Center for fertilizer distribution are required to renew their registration by mid-Asoj and receive their fertilizer quota within ten days, most have failed to do so. “There are 154 cooperatives registered for fertilizer distribution in Kanchanpur, but only 20 cooperatives renewed by mid-Asoj,” said Joshi. “The main issue is that cooperatives are not collecting fertilizers on time.”

Joshi clarified that there is no shortage of chemical fertilizers in Kanchanpur, but delays by cooperatives are creating problems for farmers. “We cannot sell fertilizer directly to farmers. Distribution is carried out through cooperatives according to their quota,” he said. “We have already written to the municipalities after the cooperatives failed to collect fertilizers.”

At present, fertilizers are being distributed to cooperatives according to the quota in nine local levels of Kanchanpur. “Chemical fertilizers are arriving regularly, and we have already distributed the first-phase quota,” Joshi said. “So far, there has been no shortage—we have sufficient stock.”

According to him, 500 metric tons of DAP have been distributed so far, with 1,100 metric tons still in stock. Similarly, 500 metric tons of urea have been distributed, and 300 metric tons remain in the warehouse. The Agricultural Materials Center stated that there will be no shortage of fertilizer as more supplies continue to arrive.

However, farmers have expressed frustration, saying they are struggling to plant winter crops due to the delay in receiving fertilizers. “Agricultural input companies do not provide fertilizers directly to farmers but through cooperatives,” said Set Singh Rana, a farmer from Bedkot Municipality-6. “We planted vegetables several days ago, but we still have not received fertilizer. The cooperatives say they have none.”

Although the responsibility for regulating cooperatives lies with local authorities, farmers believe that ineffective supervision has made cooperatives unaccountable. “The government distributes fertilizers through cooperatives, but many are inactive,” said Bir Singh Thapa, a farmer from Bhimdatta Municipality-8. “When we go to the agricultural input company, they say fertilizers are available, but cooperatives claim there is none. The local level should regulate this, but we are the ones suffering.”