Kathmandu, 18 June: “While presenting the budget for the fiscal year 2082/83, the government announced a plan to achieve self-sufficiency in rice within two years through Chaite Dhan (spring paddy) cultivation. It also unveiled a program to promote Chaite Dhan farming in 22 districts of the Tarai and Inner Madhesh regions, aiming to increase rice production by an additional 1.2 million tons.”
To encourage farmers, the government set a support price for Chaite Dhan (spring paddy) for the current fiscal year. However, farmers have not been able to sell their produce. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, around 150,000 tons of Chaite Dhan remain unsold.
Meanwhile, in the same period — the first 10 months of the current fiscal year — Nepal imported paddy and rice worth NPR 35.5 billion. Customs Department data shows that NPR 15.76 billion worth of 201.9 million kilograms of rice was imported.
Similarly, paddy worth NPR 19.77 billion — equivalent to 496.9 million kilograms — was imported. Of this, 18.5 million kilograms valued at NPR 818.2 million were brought in as seed paddy.
Farmers say this proves the government’s apathy toward them.
“On one hand, farmers are unable to sell their paddy; on the other, the import of rice and paddy worth billions of rupees has completely discouraged them,” said Uddhav Adhikari, founding president of the Federation of Farmers’ Groups. “Although the government set the minimum support price for Chaite Dhan at NPR 2,869 per quintal, farmers are receiving only around NPR 1,400. The government is not purchasing the paddy itself. So if the farmers don’t get the declared price, who will bear the loss?”
Since the farmers’ paddy has gone unsold, the Nepal Farmers Federation and the All Nepal Farmers Federation jointly organized a press conference to protest. At the press event held last Sunday, they said that farmers are suffering in distress due to not getting fair value for their Chaite Dhan.
“After the government set a support price, farmers optimistically cultivated the crop. But when it came time to sell, the government failed to fulfill its responsibility. This has left farmers disappointed and discouraged,” the federations said in a joint statement.
“The government has paid no attention to this issue. It is a serious insult to the hard work of farmers. The government must compensate the farmers by providing the difference between the declared support price and the price at which the paddy was actually sold.”
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Chaite Dhan (spring paddy) is cultivated on 120,000 hectares of land. The productivity of this crop is 5 tons per hectare, resulting in an annual output of 500,000 tons. However, the produce has not received proper market access or fair pricing.
“Agriculture is meant to increase production, and production has been good. The government has also fixed a support price. Now that the paddy remains unsold, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies and its subordinate agency, the Food Management and Trading Company, should step in to purchase it. We’ve also failed to export it,” said Nawaraj Timalsina, Personal Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture. “That’s why the Ministry of Agriculture has taken the initiative and proposed that the government immediately purchase the farmers’ paddy.”
During a meeting on Monday between Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development Ramnath Adhikari and Minister for Industry, Commerce, and Supplies Damodar Bhandari, they also discussed the reasons why farmers are not getting fair prices. The discussion included the current status of rice imports from India, existing stock of paddy and rice at the Food Management and Trading Company, the company’s capacity to purchase Chaite Dhan from farmers, and its storage capacity.
The meeting concluded with decisions to coordinate with relevant agencies for the export of rice, beaten rice (chiura), and puffed rice (bhujia), and to approach the Ministry of Finance for budget allocation to enable the Food Management and Trading Company to purchase paddy.
During the meeting, Minister for Agriculture Adhikari emphasized that farmers must receive a fair price for Chaite Dhan, regardless of the method or mechanism used. Similarly, Minister for Industry Bhandari stressed the need for joint discussions among the Ministries of Agriculture, Industry, Finance, and the National Planning Commission to find a solution to the problem and to formulate a strategic plan on the matter.
