As FMTC stops purchase, Banke farmers selling rice at low prices

By Our Correspondent

Nepalgunj, Jan. 11: Although 160,000 tonnes of paddy was produced in Banke this year, the Food Management and Trading Company Limited (FMTC), Nepalgunj, purchased only 20,000 quintals from farmers.

The company has stopped procurement after purchasing 20,294 quintals, slightly exceeding its fixed quota of 20,000 quintals.

According to the Agricultural Knowledge Centre, Banke, a total of 1.6 million quintals of paddy were produced in the district this year. 

Farmers complain that the government has created serious difficulties by purchasing only 20,000 quintals in a district with such high production.

Bijay Barma, a farmer from Janaki Rural Municipality–5, said he was worried that his production costs would not be recovered as he was forced to sell paddy at low price in the open market after the FMTC refused to buy from most farmers, citing the quota had been met.

He said that although he had received a token to sell paddy, it was returned when he reached the purchase centre, with officials saying the quota had already been met. As a result, he had no option but to sell at a cheaper rate in the market.

Similarly, Siyaram Yadav, another farmer from Janaki Rural Municipality–5, said he was concerned about how to sell his produce if the government failed to purchase it. 

He said that traders were buying paddy at prices far below the government’s minimum support price, making it difficult for farmers to recover their costs.

Ram Avtar Maurya, a leading farmer from Duduwa Rural Municipality–2, said that the government’s failure to procure paddy had allowed traders to purchase it arbitrarily at prices well below the minimum support price.

He said traders had earlier offered up to Rs. 2,500 per quintal, but after the FMTC stopped procurement, prices dropped to around Rs. 2,000 per quintal.

Likewise, Ramkaran Pal, a farmer from Janaki Rural Municipality–6, said the government was merely putting up a drama by purchasing a very small quantity of paddy, forcing many farmers to sell their produce cheaply.

He warned that if the situation continued, it might become impossible for farmers to cultivate paddy from next year.

The government had fixed the minimum support price of coarse paddy at Rs. 3,463.81 per quintal and medium quality paddy at Rs. 3,628.33 per quintal. 

However, traders have been purchasing paddy at prices up to Rs. 1,500 below the support price, leaving farmers worried that their costs will not be recovered.

Ram Sharan Lamichhane, Chief of the Food Management and Trading Company Limited, Nepalgunj, said the quota for purchasing paddy in Banke had been fixed at 20,000 quintals and that procurement was halted after the quota was fulfilled, as no additional quota had been allocated.

He said that 721 farmers came to sell paddy this year with recommendations from local authorities, but paddy was purchased only from 536 farmers after the quota was met.