Transportation of fertilizers: Bajaur Agency farmers urge government to lift ban

Farmers from Bajaur Agency have expressed concerns over the ban on sale and transportation of fertilisers and have asked the government to lift the restriction immediately. Talking to reporters on Thursday, farmers belonging to different areas of the agency strongly condemned the ban on transportation of fertilizers into the tribal agency, saying that it would hit their crop output, which was the sole source of their income.
Rustam Khan, a farmer from Salarzai area, said that the ban on sale and movement of fertilisers in the agency had created a lot of troubles for the farmers' community, as they were unable to get fertilizers in the local markets. "The decision to prohibit sale and transportation of fertilisers in the agency is a matter of serious concern for the farmers," he added. He further said that the farmers' were expecting a good crop of wheat this year, but the ban on fertilizers would badly hit the crop output.
Mursallen Khan, a farmer belonging to Mamond area told that the ban on transportation of fertilizers into the agency from the nearby districts was totally unfair and illogical, as Fertilizer was essential to achieve good crop production. He termed the imposition of ban on fertilizers citing its misuse for making explosives as unreasonable and illogical. "The farmers of tribal areas are already facing losses due to militancy and war on terrorism," he added.
They said that the authorities had slapped the ban at a time when wheat, tomato, onion, potato and other crops were in a crucial stage, where they required sufficient use of fertilizers. They also criticised the local legislators for not raising the issue with the officials concerned and said that the silence of the lawmakers had proved that they had no concern with the problems of the tribal people.
They demanded of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Acting Governor and senior officials of the Fata Secretariat and local administration to lift the ban so that the farmers could buy fertilisers without any restriction. Meanwhile, an official of the local administration told this correspondent that the administration was likely to adopt a mechanism for the transportation of fertilisers into the agency in next few days. The official said that a meeting of traders' unions from across the agency would be called soon in order to develop a strategy for ensuring supply of fertilisers to the farmers.