The food department has asked for land ownership certificates and citizenship for the sale of up to 10 quintals of rice. For more than 10 quintals, a recommendation from the ward office is required.
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The Food Management and Trading Company Limited has started purchasing rice late. The company started purchasing rice in Mahendranagar from Sunday after most farmers sold it cheaply.
"Many people have already sold paddy cheaply in their villages, so we also sold a little bit," said Karnsingh Mangola of Bhimdatta Municipality-6, Banagaun, "Although it is late, the food department has started buying it, and we have brought it here because we get a better price than the market."
Farmers in the village are selling it for 2,400 to 2,600 per quintal. After receiving the information that the food department will buy paddy, the farmers had been transporting it in autos, tractors and other vehicles since Sunday morning. Not only this, farmers have also started coming to the office to get tokens for selling paddy.
The food department has asked for landownership certificates and citizenship for selling up to 10 quintals of paddy. For more than 10 quintals, a recommendation from the ward office is required. This has caused some inconvenience to the farmers.
The food department has got a quota of 5,000 quintals of paddy in Mahendranagar this year. It is purchasing coarse rice at 3,463 per quintal and medium rice at 3,688 per quintal. Mahikaran Mahara, head of the Food and Agriculture Organization of Nepal (FAO) office in Mahendranagar, said that the center will be requested to increase the quota due to the increased pressure from farmers. “Last year, the quota has been reduced because only a small amount of rice was purchased,” he said. “If there is more rice, the center will be requested to increase the quota.”
Last year, FAO had a quota to purchase 15,000 quintals of rice in Kanchanpur. But only 3,300 quintals were purchased. Last year, procurement centers were also set up in Shuklaphanta and Belauri municipalities along with Mahendranagar. This time too, the office head Mahara said that additional staff has been requested to operate the procurement centers in Belauri, Punarbas and Dodhara Chandani municipalities. He said that if additional staff are added, the procurement will start immediately.
Paddy is cultivated on about 50,000 hectares in Kanchanpur. The productivity of rice here is 4 tons per hectare. Since the sowing can be completed by mid-Asard, the work of importing rice can also be completed quickly. But when food purchases are delayed, farmers are forced to sell cheaply in their villages. Food cannot purchase according to the quota. Farmers say that if the purchase starts on time, food can also fulfill the quota and farmers will also get a fair price.
