Farmers Struggle to Sell Paddy at Support Price Fixed by the Government

Farmers are finding it difficult to sell paddy at the government-set minimum support price this year after authorities reduced the procurement quota.

The state-owned Food Management and Trading Company Ltd (FMTC), which is responsible for purchasing paddy from farmers at the support price, has been unable to buy the crop in adequate quantities, citing limited quotas.

For this year, the government has fixed the minimum support price at Rs 3,463.81 per quintal for coarse paddy and Rs 3,628.33 per quintal for medium paddy. However, farmers say they are being forced to sell their produce to local traders at rates lower than the support price.

In a bid to secure better prices, many farmers have attempted to sell their paddy to the FMTC. This has led to long queues at procurement centres, forcing farmers to endure significant hardship.

Agni Aryal, coordinator of the Paddy Super Zone in Bardiya, said farmers have been compelled to sell paddy to private traders at a loss of Rs 800 to Rs 1,000 per quintal.

“Due to quotas, FMTC is buying paddy only in limited quantities. As farmers do not get a fair price from private traders, they are forced to queue overnight at FMTC centres,” he said. “Farmers who receive tokens often have to wait from the previous night and can sell their paddy only the next day.”

Farmers in Tikapur of Kailali district have reported facing similar problems. Bhupal Chaudhary, a farmer from Tikapur, said he had to wait for up to three days to sell his paddy. “We worked hard to produce the crop, but selling it has become even more difficult. We are forced to spend the cold winter nights under the open sky,” he said.

Currently, the FMTC is procuring paddy from Mahendranagar, Dhangadhi, Tikapur, Rajapur, Nepalgunj, Jumla, Tulsipur, Bhairahawa, Pokhara, Birgunj, Lahan, Janakpur, Biratnagar and Birtamod. The company has set a target of purchasing 18,000 metric tonnes of paddy from these centres and has so far procured around 10,000 metric tonnes, according to Anantraj Paudel, chief of the company’s procurement division.

Paudel said the procurement target was reduced this year after the company failed to meet last year’s quota. Last year, the company had set a target of purchasing 73,620 metric tonnes of paddy but managed to procure only 11,636 metric tonnes.