Local grain traders in Kailali have said that they are currently purchasing paddy from farmers for a maximum of Rs 2,500 per quintal.
What you should know
Farmers in Kailali, Kanchanpur and other Terai districts have been forced to sell paddy to traders at cheap prices. The farmers have been forced to sell paddy to local grain traders at cheap prices as the Food Management and Trading Company Limited has not yet started purchasing paddy.
This year, the government has fixed the price of coarse rice at Rs 3,463.81 per quintal and medium rice at Rs 3,628.33. However, since the company has not started the procurement, farmers are being forced to sell coarse rice at Rs 2,500 per quintal.
The District Administration Office, Kailali, has urged the Food Management and Trading Company Limited to start the procurement of rice immediately. The District Administration Office has urged the Company Limited to start the procurement of rice and determine the quota for the procurement of rice by Kartik 11. The decision was taken at a meeting of stakeholders at the District Administration Office last week.
Deepak Thapa, head of the Food Management and Trading Company Limited Regional Office, Dhangadhi, says that the procurement quota for rice has not been determined by the center till Sunday. ‘The procurement process has not been able to start due to the lack of quota determination. We are preparing to start the procurement work as soon as the quota is determined from the center.’
Last year, the Food and Trade Company Limited Province Office Dhangadhi had fixed a quota of 55,000 quintals of paddy in Kailali and started paddy procurement from the first week of Kartik. Last year, the company had fixed the purchase price of coarse paddy at Rs 3,410.51 per quintal and purchased paddy by placing forks in six places in Kailali including Mohanpur, Tikapur, Satti, Bhajani, Bardagoria in Dhangadhi.
The company was not able to purchase paddy as per the target in the last fiscal year. Although the company had increased the price compared to the previous fiscal year 080/81, some farmers had sold paddy to grain traders at a cheaper price. In 080/81, the price was fixed at Rs 3,158 per quintal. At that time, farmers had said that they had sold paddy to grain traders at Rs 3,75 per quintal.
On the other hand, farmers here say that the sales process for food is complicated and sell paddy to grain traders. ‘It is not easy to sell paddy to food. They buy it as good, peeled, clean and as a gift,’ said Kailari farmer Rewant Bohara, ‘That is why we sell it to grain traders even if it is a little cheaper.’
Local grain traders in Kailali have said that they are currently purchasing paddy from farmers for a maximum of Rs 2,500 per quintal. Ram Bahadur Chaudhary, a grain trader at Yasika Traders in Kailali, said that he is currently buying paddy for Rs 2,500 per quintal. ‘I have purchased up to three hundred quintals of paddy so far,’ he said, ‘I have been in the business of buying and selling paddy for about seven years. This year, the production has been good. But farmers have not brought the expected paddy for sale.'
Sherchan Chaudhary of Anuragbanshi Traders, a local grain trader in Hasulia, Kailali, said that farmers are waiting for the implementation of the government rate, so they are coming to sell less paddy.
Last year, the food ministry had set a standard for purchasing up to 50 quintals of paddy from a farmer. For that, it was mentioned that the paddy should be clean, identification documents should be brought, and the recommendation of the ward office should be brought.
Kailali has data that 324,884 metric tons of paddy was produced last year. According to the Agricultural Knowledge Center Kailali, 68,541 hectares of paddy were cultivated, and 4.74 metric tons of paddy was produced per hectare.
