Kailali. Swaroop Chaudhary, a resident of Nimdi in Ghodaghodi Municipality-3, had gone to Bhajani on Saturday morning to sell paddy. After the government started purchasing paddy by fixing the support price of paddy, Swarup did not get his turn that day when he reached Bhajani godown, the sub-center of the Food Management and Trading Company. It took him four days to sell the paddy.

It took four days for Raj Kumar Chaudhary of Bhajani-4 to sell the paddy. Farmers are excited with the hope that they will be able to sell paddy at the price fixed by the government. However, due to the delay in the procurement process and the long queue, the enthusiasm has turned into disappointment. Some farmers have been forced to return home from morning till evening to sell their paddy. Some stay in front of the center all night, so that they can sell their paddy in the first turn the next day.

I haven’t returned home for three days. Bishnu Chaudhary, a farmer of Ghodaghodi, said, “I have never had such a hard time selling paddy. It is not your turn to stand in line from morning to evening, you have to stay here at night to protect the dolph and paddy. Like him, many farmers are standing in queues day and night to sell their paddy at the government procurement centre. The government has set the price of coarse rice at Rs 3,463 per quintal this year. Farmers are queuing up at the centre in the hope that they will sell the goods at the government price as traders buy them at a lower price in the market.

A notice was issued to start paddy procurement in the district from October 26. Bhim Bahadur Budha, an employee at Bhajani Purchase Sub-Centre, said that they started purchasing paddy from November 1 due to bad weather. According to him, 50 quintals of paddy is being purchased from each farmer. According to Budha, lack of infrastructure is the main reason for the delay in procurement. “There is only one fork in operation for paddy procurement,” he said. Keeping in mind the problems of the farmers, we are preparing to add another fork in coordination with the municipality. ’

Most of the land in Kailali district lies in the Terai, where paddy and other crops are the main source of income. The farmers here put their hard work into this crop throughout the year. For them, selling paddy is not just a business, but a source of livelihood for their families. But they are in trouble as they are not getting their turn to sell paddy.

The delay in the sale of paddy has affected the economic condition of the farmers. We need money to plant new crops in the field, but we don’t get cash until we sell the paddy. Some farmers earn their livelihood by selling their crops. Ramita Chaudhary, a local of Ghodaghodi, said, “I have been managing my household expenses by borrowing money to pay for the sale of paddy.” It’s been two days since I’ve been in line, sometimes it’s my turn. ’

The Food Management and Trading Company (FMTC) has been operating 13 procurement centers based on the pocket area of paddy production. Under this, paddy procurement has started from Kailali all over Nepal. According to Deepak Thapa, chief of the Food Management and Trade Company Limited Far-West, paddy is being purchased through six procurement sub-centres in the district—Bhajani, Mohanpur, Satti, Gauriganga, Joshipur and Tikapur. There is a long queue of farmers at all the sub-centres.

It has been decided to purchase 35,000 quintals of paddy in Kailali. As of yesterday, more than nine thousand quintals have been purchased. Stating that the government has been purchasing paddy at the support price, he said, “All the farmers have come to the procurement center as the price is low in other places.” Because of which there is a lot of crowd. ’

Another problem is manpower and infrastructure. The number of employees in the state office is low. Stating that four employees were brought from Achham, Bajura, Bajhang and Kalikot, Thapa said, “This time, the government budget has made a provision to deposit the amount in the farmers’ accounts for the purchase of paddy. Therefore, there has been some difficulty in paddy procurement. He said that two employees have been deployed at one of the sub-centers.

He said that although the paddy procurement should be done from 10 am to 4 pm, the paddy procurement has been started from 8 am to 9 pm due to pressure of farmers.