No step yet to stop adulterated fertiliser
Say two civic bodies demanding strict law
Members of Nagorik Sanghati, wearing black attires, form a human chain near Shahbag intersection in the city yesterday demanding a stop to the sale of adulterated fertilisers, seeds and pesticides and punishment to those involved in this offence.Photo: STAR
Two civic bodies yesterday demanded the government to frame a stringent law to stop the sale of adulterated fertilisers, seeds and pesticides as those would threaten the country's food security. “Adulterated fertilisers, seeds and pesticides are not only harming the farmers but also the entire food production and agriculture system of the country,” said general secretary of one of the bodies, Nagorik Sanghati, Sharifuzzaman Sharif. Nagorik Sanghati and Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods organised a sit-in before National Museum in the city's Shahbagh. Recent newspaper reports, citing a survey of Bangladesh Soil Resource Development Institute, mentioned that almost 50 percent of the fertilisers being used in the country were adulterated. The figure was 42 last year, said Sharif. “But the government had not taken any steps in this regard,” he said, demanding immediate remedial actions to protect farmers and the agricultural sector. Former general secretary of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon, Mahidul Haque Khan, said despite the presence of a numbers of government organisations to monitor the food and agriculture sector, there are no measures to ensure food safety, excluding those being exported. “Then, what are those organisations doing?” he questioned. Other demands include cancellation of some sections and sub-sections of the national seed policy which put pressure on the country's food security and agriculture sector, providing compensation to affected farmers and taking action against those responsible for adulterating fertilisers, seeds and insecticides.
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