After farmers continuously complained that they were unable to sell their paddy at the price fixed by the government and had to sell it to grain traders at a cheaper price, Sudurpaschim Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah has written to the federal government to increase the purchase quota of 50,000 quintals of paddy in the Far West.

The Nepal government had earlier set a quota of 35,000 quintals of rice for Kailali and 5,000 quintals for Kanchanpur through the Food Management and Trade Company Limited in the Far West. However, the Food Ministry has stopped the procurement in mid-October, saying that the quota was filled within two weeks of starting the procurement.

After the Food Ministry stopped the procurement of rice, most farmers in Kailali and Kanchanpur have been unable to sell their rice and have been stuck at home. Some say they are being forced to sell to local grain traders at a cheap price. The price fixed by the government is 3,463.81 rupees per quintal, while farmers are being forced to sell to local grain traders at only 2,300 rupees per quintal.

Earlier, after complaints from farmers that they were not getting the price of rice as fixed by the Nepal government, Chief Minister Shah had directed the Chief District Officer of Kailali to monitor whether the farmers were getting the support price of rice. However, since the Food Ministry is not buying rice, the farmers are still complaining that they are being forced to sell at the arbitrary price fixed by local grain traders. 

Farmers selling paddy cheaply after food quota runs out

In the last fiscal year, the government had fixed a quota of 55,000 quintals of paddy procurement from Kailali. However, for the current fiscal year, the quota was reduced and only 35,000 quintals were fixed for procurement through the Food Management and Trading Company Limited Provincial Office, Dhangadhi. The problem arose due to the low quota.

‘Around 200 farmer families in our village have been unable to sell their paddy, so they 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 the Bhajani Municipality of Kailali. ‘I sold 20 quintals to a grain trader, and I still have 10 quintals to sell.’

Farmers affiliated with various Toll Development Organizations of Bhajani, formed to solve common problems in the village, have united and complained to the municipality and the provincial government about having to sell paddy at cheap prices, but Chaudhary says that nothing has been heard.

Thapa, head of the provincial office of the Food Management and Trade Company Limited, says that although the quota for purchasing 40,000 quintals of paddy was fixed in Kailali this year, 35,000 quintals and five in Kanchanpur, 45,824 quintals were purchased considering the pressure from farmers.

‘We purchased 38,948 quintals out of the 35,000 quintal quota in Kailali and 6,876 quintals out of the 5,000 quintal quota in Kanchanpur,’ he said.

This year, 38,541 hectares of rice were cultivated in Kailali, and 388,434 metric tons of rice were produced, says Ghanshyam Chaudhary, head of the Agricultural Knowledge Center Kailali.

The food industry had purchased rice by establishing procurement centers at 6 locations in Kailali since Kartik 11. Accordingly, 5,984 quintals of coarse rice were purchased at the Mohanpur procurement center, 9,877 at Tikapur, 5,742 at Bhajani, 7,929 at Sati, 4,600 at Joshipur, and 4,304 quintals from the Gauriganga procurement center, according to the Food Management and Trade Company Limited Provincial Office. The office said that 7,06 quintals of coarse rice were purchased in Kanchanpur.

Provincial Office Chief Thapa says that the provincial government and local levels can also think about this in time and make a plan. ‘It is easy for the provincial and local governments to estimate the amount of rice that can be produced and sold in their areas. I see it necessary to make a procurement plan by allocating the budget accordingly,’ Thapa said, ‘In the current situation, if the government gives us the authority to purchase more rice, we can move forward with the procurement process.’

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Shah says that the federal government should give the responsibility of rice procurement and fertilizer management to the provincial and local governments. ‘If the federal government gives the responsibility to the provinces, we will not allow the current problems to arise,’ he said. After the farmers suffered greatly, the provincial government has been requested in writing through the federal government’s Finance Minister Rameshwor Khanal to provide an additional quota for rice procurement for the Far West, Chief Minister Shah said.

‘Finance Minister Rameshwor Khanal has said that he will talk to the Ministry of Agriculture and find a solution,’ said Chief Minister Shah, ‘Farmers are complaining here, I am also aware of it. I believe that all the problems will be resolved.' According to Thapa, the Food Management and Trade Company Limited had fixed a quota of seven lakh quintals of rice purchase across the country, but had purchased only one lakh 20 thousand quintals. This year, he said, the quota for rice purchase across the country has been fixed at only one lakh 70 thousand quintals.

In the last fiscal year, 56 thousand 527 quintals of rice were sold from Dhangadhi and five thousand quintals were sold from Kanchanpur, Thapa informed. Food purchases rice and sells it after threshing it in its own mill. On the other hand, even though Food purchases less rice, it has been purchasing rice from traders and selling it.