Bangladeshi scientists are set to offer an eco-friendly liquid fertiliser to farmers, in a bid to drastically reduce the costs of crop production. The liquid fertiliser, the first of its kind in Bangladesh, will increase soil fertility and the use of herbicide, pesticide and larvicide will not be necessary to control pests and weeds, according to the scientists. A group of scientists at the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) has developed the new fertiliser in liquid form. They have named it “Multiple Effect Environment Friendly Insect Repellent Fertiliser (MEEFIRF)”.
Only locally available raw materials, such as solid waste of sugarcane and straws, have been used to produce the liquid fertiliser.
The BCSIR has already submitted an application for patent, sources confirmed.
The BCSIR’s chief scientific officer (Rajshahi branch), Abdul Hye, said the country’s flora and fauna, which are facing extinction due to rampant use of traditional chemical fertilisers, will be protected
if the environment-friendly liquid fertiliser is used.
Farmers will be able to significantly cut the costs of crop production after the fertiliser is commercially launched, he claimed. Hye said farmers should to spray the fertiliser after mixing it with water.
Dr Ahmad Ismail Mustafa, BCSIR chairman, will unveil details of the new fertiliser soon, said Mala Khan, senior scientific officer of the BCSIR.
Ten scientists, led by Abdul Hye, had started work on the fertiliser in 2011. They used the fertiliser on different crops and found that the production of paddy had increased by five to six kg per katha, compared to application of chemical fertlisers to the same crops.
According to BCSIR sources, only 87 litres of MEEFIRF will be needed to cultivate paddy on one acre, while 435 kg of different chemical fertilisers are needed to cultivate the same amount of paddy.
Yeafesh Osman, state minister for science and technology, said: “The newly developed liquid fertiliser is environment-friendly. If we can apply it successfully in the field level on a commercial basis, it will be a great achievement for the nation.”
According to the agriculture ministry, the total urea fertiliser production in 2012-13 was 16 lakh tonnes in six urea factories, against a demand of 30 lakh tonnes. Domestic production covered more than 50 per cent of the total demand of urea. Similarly, domestic production of TSP was 0.50 lakh tonnes, which covered 10 per cent of the total demand, while domestic production of 0.60 lakh tonnes of gypsum covered 40 per cent of the total demand. Moreover, the demand of 4 lakh tonnes of MP was completely imported from foreign countries. Most of the demand, however, is met by imported fertilisers.
Besides, the nation needs about 35 lakh tonnes of various pesticides annually, which was 16,200 tonnes in 2001, said sources in the Department of Agriculture Extension.
-With The Independent input
