Experts for use of granule urea to boost crop production

They said in the face of increased prices of common urea fertilisers, the framers can easily go for massive use of granule urea as it is environment-friendly and also boosts crop production.

They made the observations while addressing a press conference on "Urea deep placement (UDP) as an option to save urea and increased yields" on Thursday in the city.

International Fertiliser Development Corporation (IFDC), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Bangladesh Fertiliser Association (BFA) jointly organised the press conference.

They said the farmers scatter generally available urea fertilisers over the crop lands, making them more susceptible of being washed away by waters and mixing its nitrogen gas into air bringing havoc to environment.

On the other hand, they said the Guti urea invented by the Bangladeshi scientists and used in the croplands through deep placing of the soil, ensures full benefit in terms of increased crop production and protection of environment from any sort of degradation.

The reason is, they further said Guti urea does not wash away by the water currents or its gas cannot mix into the air.

While referring to the country's annual requirement, Vice Chairman of BFA Kamrul Ashraf said Bangladesh needs 28,000 lakh tonnes of fertilisers a year but this amount can be reduced to half by ensuring use of Guti fertilisers." This will also help save huge foreign currency, he added.

Agriculture specialist M Mofidul Islam said if Guti urea is used, crops and its hay can consume 42 percent and 23 percent ingredients respectively of the total elements resulting in high yielding of crops and reducing uses of common fertiliser.

"While the consumption capacity of crops and its hay of the ingredients of the regular fertiliser at 23 percent and nine percent respectively indicates the wastage of fertilisers and production of less crops," he observed.

The specialist said a total of 10 lakh farmers have been using Guti urea on 2.50 lakh hectares of land across the country. Besides, he said, the technology has been transferred to Vietnam and Cambodia.

Mofidul Islam also highlighted other potentials of use of Guti urea including employment generation, full use of its ingredients by crops, hay and soil; saving of foreign currency and higher yields.

Chairman of Bangladesh Fertiliser Association Kafil Uddin Ahmed, IFDC Agronomist Craig A Meisner, Resident Representative of IFDC for Asia Division Walter T Bowen and Agriculturist Dr Shaheedul Haque also spoke on the occasion.