Government Faces Heat Over Fertiliser Shortages and Rs 59 Billion Subsidy Burden

Lawmakers on Thursday pressed the government over persistent shortages of chemical fertiliser and ballooning subsidy costs, demanding explanations for distribution failures that continue to leave farmers empty-handed during peak cultivation seasons.

During a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, legislators questioned Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Environment Geeta Chaudhary and Ministry Secretary Dr. Rajendra Prasad Mishra over stark discrepancies between official inventory data and ground shortages, Onlinekhabar reported. Lawmakers, including Khagendra Karna, highlighted chronic procurement delays and distribution leakages, while others raised questions regarding land management, organic alternatives, and a recent viral audio controversy linked to ministry appointments.

Addressing the committee, Secretary Mishra cautioned that the state faces an uphill fiscal battle, estimating that meeting national fertiliser demand requires an estimated Rs 59 billion subsidy, according to Onlinekhabar. Mishra noted that subsidies on di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) have reached approximately Rs 120 per kilogram, making continued state financing increasingly challenging. The ministry is formulating a revised action plan starting in mid-February (Falgun) to secure supplies ahead of peak sowing between April and August.

The warning follows a recent decision by the Ministry of Finance to inject an additional Rs 10 billion into the fertiliser budget, expanding the current fiscal year's allocation to Rs 42.46 billion from an initial Rs 32.46 billion, Karobar Daily reported. That budget aims to finance the import of 550,000 tonnes of fertiliser.

Despite a nearly tenfold budget expansion over the past decade—rising from Rs 4.84 billion in fiscal year 2016–17—supply shortages remain chronic. Ministry Joint Secretary Dr. Ram Krishna Shrestha told Karobar Daily that international prices have escalated sharply while domestic retail tariffs have remained unchanged for ten years, forcing the government to absorb massive price gaps. Shrestha added that growing commercial farming, non-cereal crops, and a declining reliance on livestock manure have driven demand far higher.

Distribution bottlenecks exacerbate the crisis. Pancha Kaji Shrestha, chairman of the Federation of Farmer Groups Nepal, told Karobar Daily that local cooperatives tasked with retailing fertiliser earn a margin of just 25 paisa per bag. Because low quotas and elevated freight costs make transport unviable, cooperatives frequently fail to collect their allotments, stranding rural farmers without supplies.

Seeking a long-term solution, Minister Chaudhary formed a cross-ministerial task force on Thursday to establish a legal framework ensuring state procurement from planned domestic fertiliser plants, Gorkhapatra reported. The panel, which includes specialists from the agriculture, finance, industry, and energy ministries alongside the Public Procurement Monitoring Office, has been directed to submit actionable recommendations within 30 days.