The demand for chemical fertilisers has increased by four lakh tonnes for crops cultivation across the country in the upcoming fiscal compared to the current year.

For 2021-22, the demand for chemical fertilisers was fixed at 66 lakh tonnes whereas the demand was 62 lakh tonnes in 2020-21, agriculture ministry officials said, our Rajshahi correspondent reports.

The increase was mainly due to increase of cultivation areas of crops, crop intensity and promotion of hybrid cropping.

The fertiliser demands were decided in a meeting of the National Committee for coordination and advisory of fertilisers affairs held virtually from the agriculture ministry yesterday.

Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque who convenes the committee chaired the meeting.

 "Farmers have no problem with fertilizer now", he said adding that his government established good governance in fertiliser management in the country.

"Our government is ensuring adequate supply of fertilisers on one hand and on the other, it is reducing the prices of fertilisers and taking fetilizers to the doorsteps of farmers."

The increase of fertiliser demand was marked by increased demand for Urea, TSP, and DAP fertilisers.

In the current year, the demand for urea was 25.50 lakh tonnes while it was five lakh tonnes of TSP, and 15 lakh tons of DAP.

Talking to The Daily Star last night, the additional secretary Md Mahbubul Islam of the agriculture ministry said, the area of cultivation has been increasing every year as fallow lands were being brought under the cultivation.

"Apart from area increase, we have managed to increase the cropping intensity. We have turned some crop lands into three- to five-crop yielding ones. Especially, we are promoting cultivation of hybrid crops," he said.

"All these require more fertilisers," he said.

There was an aim of raising the country's buffer stock of fetilisers considering the worldwide coronavirus situation that has been hampering the production of the chemical crop boosters.

Among others, the meeting was also attended by the Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun, and chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on agriculture and former agriculture minister Begum Matia Chowdhury.