With food shortages and high inflation across the globe, Nepal and Sri Lanka have re-doubled their efforts to secure fertilizers from India on time, hoping to offset any potential yield loss in their upcoming paddy crop. The World Bank last month warned of widespread food insecurity among developing countries.

Officials of both Nepal and Sri Lanka are already in talks with Indian officials about procuring fertilizers on an immediate basis. Nepal’s Agriculture Minister Mahendra Rai Yadav this week held talks with his Indian counterpart Mahendra Singh Tomar to import 60000 tons of urea and 20000 tons of DAP.

In April, Nepal signed an agreement with the Indian government for a long-term agreement for the procurement of fertilizers. However, the talks over pricing and other issues are still going on.

Paddy sowing will start in both countries by next week with the arrival of the monsoon. However, farmers in both countries are not too confident in getting fertilizers for their crops on time. In Nepal, which has received a good pre-monsoon rain in the northern hilly region, sowing has already begun.

 Already engulfed in a massive economic crisis, Sri Lanka has been facing a shortage of food for weeks now. The island country of 22 million, a senior official has warned recently, would face a massive food shortage by next month.

On Wednesday, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him of supplying fertilizers soon. With no dollars left, Sri Lanka is hoping to utilize a line of credit extended by India to import fertilizers.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said recently that over $600 million would be needed to procure fertilizers for the upcoming sowing season, known as the yala season in Sri Lanka. However, anticipating up to a 50 percent loss in yield amid the unavailability of fertilizers, many farmers in the country are giving the season a miss.

(SAM)