Kathmandu. Last year, farmers were unable to plant crops at this time. But this time, the farmers do not have the same enthusiasm and enthusiasm as last year. The reason is that two years ago, farmers had found good prices for both paddy in the rainy season and in the month of March.
The government also fixed the price of Chaite paddy on time, which had added to the enthusiasm of the farmers. The market price was also good. However, last year’s Chaite paddy and monsoon paddy did not get the same price as last year. Last year, farmers were getting Rs 600 to Rs 700 per hectare of paddy while they got Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,300 per grain in the rainy season. Sagar Bista, chief of Agriculture Knowledge Centre, Jhapa, said that the area under paddy cultivation is likely to decrease by around 15 to 20 percent this year as compared to last year.
“Last year, the farmers did not get the price of Chaite paddy. Bista said that the area under paddy cultivation in Jhapa district will decrease this year due to lack of remunerative price. “We have estimated that paddy cultivation will decrease in three to four thousand hectares,” he said. In the fiscal year 2081÷82, the government had fixed the support price of Chaite paddy at Rs 2,869 per quintal. However, farmers could barely get Rs 1,500 to Rs 1,750 per quintal.
The government increased the price of Chaite paddy by Rs. 93.41 per quintal in the fiscal year 2081÷82 compared to the previous fiscal year 2080÷81. But the farmers did not get the same price. The government has increased the minimum support price of paddy for the current fiscal year. The government has fixed the minimum support price of coarse paddy at Rs 3,463.81 per quintal while the minimum support price of medium paddy at Rs 3,628.33 per quintal. Last year, the minimum support price of coarse rice was Rs 3,410 while the minimum price of medium paddy was Rs 3,580. However, the farmers did not even get the old price, let alone increased.
Every year, the government is increasing the price and the farmers are not getting the price. Industrialists and entrepreneurs have been paying the price of paddy to the farmers as per their wishes. The millers’ complaint is different. They are complaining that the industry is in crisis. In the fiscal year 2080÷81, farmers of Chaite paddy got a fair price. A total of 104,014 metric tonnes of rice was produced in 19,850 hectares of land in the last fiscal year. The area under paddy cultivation increased by 100 hectares to 19,950 hectares in the fiscal year 2081÷82 BS and 106,134 metric tons of Chaite paddy was produced, said Bista, chief of Agriculture Knowledge Centre.
The Agriculture Knowledge Centre has been organizing various programs to reduce the input cost of farmers and increase production. Chief Bista further said that model paddy was cultivated in 24 bighas of land in Shivasatakshi and Gauradaha this year as in the past. He said that model farming was done in these two places using paddy planting machine. “We are working to teach farmers agricultural technology and make them accustomed to it,” he said, adding that it would reduce the cost of farmers and attract them to the agriculture sector. ’
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