Kathmandu. A task force has been formed to improve the supply chain of the agriculture sector by reducing the high price gap between farmers and consumers.

The ‘Suggestion Task Force for Supply Chain Reform’, formed after extensive discussions among the concerned stakeholders, including the Ministry of Agriculture, Forest and Environment, is working towards ending the compulsion of farmers to buy at a higher price and lower prices.

Deputy Director General of the Department of Agriculture, Dr. According to the preliminary study of the task force formed under the coordination of Diwasraj Bista, middlemen from farmers to consumers are involved in the supply chain of agricultural products.

The government aims to reduce these unnecessary layers to two or three levels. The task force has estimated that the price received by farmers could increase by up to 30 percent if the recommendations of the supply chain reforms are implemented.

The task force is collecting on-site data from 12 major agricultural markets and production sites in the country to identify concrete measures for improvement. The task force will recommend the development of a farming system, storage, processing and packaging measures as per the market demand, and the development of a market information system to minimize losses.

In addition, the government has adopted a policy to encourage new technology and delivery startups to deliver agricultural products directly from the fields to the homes of the consumers.

The task force, which has been active in data collection for the past 15 days, will submit a report along with policy decisions and concrete measures for implementation within the next one month.