Kathmandu – Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development Ramnath Adhikari has announced that despite the country’s annual demand for chemical fertilizers standing at 1.3 million tons, the government plans to import only 600,000 tons in the current fiscal year due to budget constraints.
Responding to queries raised during the Zero and Special Hour of the House of Representatives on Thursday, Minister Adhikari said the budget allocated for fertilizer procurement this fiscal year is insufficient to meet total demand.
According to him, the government provides subsidies of up to 82% on urea, 64% on DAP, and 49% on potash fertilizers, which makes large-scale imports financially challenging.
He stated that 90% of the purchased fertilizer will be distributed through provincial governments to areas with higher scientific consumption, based on factors such as arable land, irrigation facilities, crop intensity, past consumption, and current demand.
The remaining 10% will be stored as a buffer stock and distributed upon the recommendation of provincial committees. Fertilizer quotas for provinces will be further allocated to local municipalities, which will then distribute them via cooperatives or, where no cooperatives exist, through agro-vets and private firms as per their jurisdiction.
Minister Adhikari stressed that the fertilizer distribution process has been made more scientific and transparent.