'Paba Sar Dotcom' service launched in Rajshahi to prevent fertiliser crisis

A digital website service named 'Paba Sar Dotcom' has been launched in Paba upazila of Rajshahi to ensure balanced distribution of fertiliser among farmers and prevent artificial crises. Through this platform, information on fertiliser stock, sales and remaining amounts at various dealers in the upazila can be seen online.

Rajshahi Divisional Commissioner Md Yusuf Ali inaugurated the service as chief guest at a ceremony held at the Paba Upazila Parishad conference room on Tuesday noon. District Commissioner Kazi Shahidul Islam was the special guest. Paba Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) Md Ibnul Abedin presided over the ceremony. Upazila Agriculture Officer M A Mannan conducted it.

UNO Md Ibnul Abedin said the government is allocating adequate fertiliser with subsidies in agriculture. However, during monitoring at the field level, it was found that even with adequate allocation, many farmers are not getting their fair share of fertiliser due to unequal distribution. Again, as some farmers take more fertiliser than needed, other farmers are deprived of their due share.

The UNO said 'Paba Sar Dotcom' has been launched considering these problems. Under this system, farmers will not have to follow any new process. They will buy fertiliser from dealers as before. Only dealers will have to update their stock and sales information on the website. Through this, the administration will be able to know online how much fertiliser is in stock with which dealer.

The UNO said the stock information of around 25 dealers in Paba upazila will be visible on the website's dashboard. If an abnormal amount of fertiliser is sold in any area compared to the need, a warning message will appear on the website. Then an investigating officer will be sent to the concerned area to verify the matter.

Highlighting the monitoring of the fertiliser distribution system, he said sub-assistant agriculture officers will monitor farmers getting fertiliser at the field level. Their inspections will be recorded through GPS locations. Then 10 tag officers from various departments of the upazila will oversee their activities. The upazila administration will also monitor the entire system.

The UNO said 'Paba Sar Dotcom' is basically a progressive web app. It can be used as a website as well as added to a mobile phone like an app. It has currently been launched on a pilot basis. Changes and new facilities will be added to it gradually based on users' feedback.

District Commissioner Kazi Shahidul Islam said delivering fertiliser to marginal farmers at the right time is a big challenge for the administration. That challenge can be tackled by using digital technology. He said even with adequate fertiliser in stock, attempts are sometimes made to create artificial crises. This initiative will help prevent that as well as make it easier to deliver fertiliser to farmers. It has currently been launched in Paba on a pilot basis. If successful, the system will gradually be launched in other upazilas of Rajshahi district.

Divisional Commissioner Md Yusuf Ali said fertiliser is one of the important inputs of agricultural production. Fertiliser is needed for crop growth, flowering and fruiting. Therefore, it is important to ensure proper management of fertiliser. He said it will not be enough to just have information on how much fertiliser is in stock with dealers. Information on how many farmers are in which area, how much arable land they have, what crops they are cultivating in which season and how much fertiliser is needed for that crop also needs to be added to the digital system.

The Divisional Commissioner said if it is known how many farmers are cultivating how much land in a block during the Aman season, the potential fertiliser demand for that area can be determined in advance. The demand for urea, DAP, MOP and TSP can also be determined crop-wise.

He further said a list of farmers in each block and information on their fertiliser demand, along with designated dealers, could be provided. Then it will be known in advance which farmer will take fertiliser from which dealer. This will reduce farmers' confusion over fertiliser and increase transparency in the distribution system.

Asked about the current fertiliser stock situation, the Divisional Commissioner said there is adequate fertiliser in buffer warehouses at the government level and in BCI-BADC warehouses. However, monitoring of stock in dealers' warehouses is also needed. Whether any farmer is buying more fertiliser than needed and storing it at home is also being monitored at the field level. Action is being taken if irregularities are found.

The design, management and technical development of the 'Paba Sar' project was done by SilkoRa Consultancy Limited. The organisation said information on fertiliser allocation, stock, sales and distribution has been brought to a single platform in this digital system. This will make it easy for farmers, dealers and concerned persons in the administration to see the necessary information. It will also make it easier to detect irregularities and deliver fertiliser to the right farmer at the right time.

Fertiliser dealers, farmers and concerned government officials were present at the inauguration ceremony.