Farmers in Chhathar Jorpati have started destroying radishes in their fields after selling them for five rupees per kilo did not even cover the cost.
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Radish farmers in Chhathar Jorpati Rural Municipality of Dhankuta, known as the 'vegetable capital' of Koshi Province, are currently facing problems due to not getting a fair price for their produce.
Due to not getting a fair price in the market, the radishes in their fields have not been sold even by the time the new crop is planted. Since the cost of production has not increased, the radishes produced by the farmers here have started rotting in the fields.
Seeing that the cost of production has not increased, some have started spraying chemical pesticides and using mechanical plows to destroy the radishes.
Radish cultivation has been carried out commercially in Jorpati, Sidhuwa, Majuwa, Chulachuli, Salle, Chapparichowk, Phutrungdanda, Gurase, Bokre, Roteahal and other areas of Chhathar Jorpati Rural Municipality. But currently, farmers are forced to sell radishes for only Rs 5 to 6 per kilogram. They complain that this price does not even increase the cost of production.
According to Gurase farmer Indrasaru Magar, selling radishes for five rupees a kilo does not cover the cost of fertilizers, seeds, pesticides, field preparation and labor. 'Even the wages paid to the harvester to uproot the radishes and send them to the market are not covered. That is why they have to destroy them in the field,' he said. Many farmers here have left the radishes to rot in the field without uprooting them. Some have started preparing the land for the new crop by using oxen and mechanical plows to mow the radishes.
According to Magar, the radishes, which were initially sold for up to 20 rupees per kilo, have fallen to 5 rupees after many of them came to the market at once. Now, he said, the radishes have started to rot and the field has started to smell bad. Despite this situation for farmers, he complains that the government has not taken any initiative for market management or relief.
About 3,000 farmer families in Chhathar Jorpati have been affected by not getting a good price for radishes. Chhathar Jorpati Rural Municipality Chairman Chhatra Bahadur Subba is himself a commercial farmer. He said that he had to destroy the radishes planted in his own 20 ropani area. 'It is not possible to sell them for Rs 5 per kg to cover the cost. That is why in some places they have been uprooted and thrown away, in some places they have been cut and left, and in some places they have been sprayed with pesticides and started rotting,' he said.
He said that despite being under the leadership of the local government, the local level has not been able to provide relief to the farmers as they do not have the right to control the market. 'We have increased production, but the market is not under our control. The association and the state government should ensure that the farmers' produce is sold,' he said.
According to Chairman Subba, this year alone, farmers in Chhathar Jorpati have suffered a financial loss of more than Rs 20 million due to not getting a good price for radishes. Many farmers are now preparing to cultivate cabbage and cauliflower by replacing radishes.
The Chhathar Jorpati area is known in the Koshi region for commercial vegetable production including radishes, potatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, lamb's lettuce, squash, and sweet potato. But due to the recurring market management problems every year, farmers have not been able to get the right price for their produce.
The radishes that farmers could not sell for Rs 5-6 per kilogram are being sold for up to Rs 35 in the market of Dhankuta headquarters. But the radishes produced in the Chhathar Jorpati area cannot be sold in the local market. There is no mechanism to transport them to large markets. Village head Chhatra Bahadur Subba says that as soon as there is an obstacle to exports to India, local vegetables will not get a good price. Farmers have demanded that the government implement effective programs for minimum support prices for agricultural produce, collection centers, cold storage, transportation subsidies, market management, and production-market coordination.
