Farmers in Kailali have been forced to sell their paddy at a low price to traders after the food and trading company's purchase quota ran out. Some farmers have complained that they were unable to sell their paddy at a reasonable price, while others have said that they had to sell it cheaply to local traders.

"I had already sold 20 quintals of paddy to a grain merchant at a rate of Rs 2,500 per quintal to raise funds for sowing wheat. I have stored 50 quintals of paddy at home. Now the price has come down to Rs 2,300 per quintal," said Bhagiram Chaudhary, a farmer from Bhajani-3 Padaria in Kailali. "I am afraid that rats will destroy the paddy I have at home. I am forced to sell it even if it is cheap." This year, the Food Management and Trading Company had fixed the purchase price of coarse paddy at Rs 3,463.81 per quintal. The food company has stopped purchasing, saying that the quota has been exhausted. But most farmers have not been able to sell paddy.

‘Two hundred families in our village have been unable to sell their paddy and have been storing it at home,’ said Ramswaroop Chaudhary, a farmer from Padaria, who is also the chairman of the Pashupati Toll Development Organization formed by Bhajani Municipality. ‘I sold 20 quintals to a grain trader, and I still have 10 quintals to sell.’ He said that despite initiatives taken through the Toll Development Organization to sell food, it has not been possible. 

Another farmer, Kanhaiyalal Dagoura, says that farmers are always in trouble. He said that farmers are incurring losses in every aspect of their work, from farming to selling. ‘A bigha costs Rs 10,000. When selling, they have to pay the price set by the trader. What could be a bigger irony for a farmer?’ he said. 

The Food and Trading Company, which had set a quota of 55,000 quintals in Kailali and 15,000 quintals in Kanchanpur last year, had set a quota of 35,000 quintals in Kailali and 5,000 quintals in Kanchanpur this year. The company's provincial office chief Deepak Thapa said that the quota was completed within about two weeks of starting the purchase. 'The quota has decreased compared to last year. Less rice was purchased as per the quota last year. That is why the government has reduced the quota this year,' said Thapa.

According to farmers, it is difficult to sell rice for food. According to them, when the purchase quota for food is low, they have to go through the hassle of bringing back the rice that has already been delivered.

'When the quota is low, there is a need for access to sell rice. Meanwhile, the food company does not immediately give the farmers the money for selling rice,' said Bhajani's Dhani Kumari Chaudhary. 'The rice that is transported from a distance to the food depot after bearing the transportation costs is sent back by the food depot employees saying it is not clean.' Farmers suspect that there is also a practice of traders buying rice cheaply from farmers and selling it to the food company at a high price. 

Thapa, the provincial head of the food company, says that this year, although a quota of 40,000 quintals of rice was fixed in Kailali and Kanchanpur, 45,824 quintals were purchased. 'We purchased 38,948 quintals out of a quota of 35,000 quintals in Kailali and 6,876 quintals out of a quota of 5,000 quintals in Kanchanpur,' he said.