Bardia farmers rue drop in paddy prices

Farmers from Rajapur, Bardiya, have complained about low paddy prices this year.
The farmers, who had sold Makwanpur Paddy at Rs2,400 per quintal last year, are getting just Rs2,000 this year. The Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) has set the price at Rs2,100 on Dec 1, 2015, but traders are not willing to purchase at that rate.
NFC had first planned to purchase 30,000 quintals of paddy from the farmers, but again raised the amount by 10,000 quintals.
The farmers have so far sold 32,000 quintals of paddy to NFC, according its manager Bhoj Raj Pandey. Jiv Raj Regmi, former vice-chairperson of Rajapur VDC, said farmers have been compelled to sell paddy at rates lower than last year’s. He said NFC’s decision not to purchase Masino and Madhyam paddy has further troubled the farmers.
Jagat Tharu, a farmer based in Pashupatinagar-1, said even the government was paying less for their produce, let alone traders. “Moreover, the policy of not purchasing Masino and Madhyam paddy has hit us further,” Tharu said.
According to Hari Ram Tharu of Rajapur-14 lamented: “If this situation persists, farmers might not be able to engage in agriculture,” he said.
According to NFC, Rajapur produces up to 400,000 quintals of paddy a year.