JANAKPUR: Farmers in Dhanusha and Mahottari districts have refused to sell their wheat to the Food Management and Trading Company Limited’s provincial office in Janakpurdham after the government fixed a procurement price lower than the prevailing market rate.
The federal government had set the minimum support price for wheat at Rs 3,867.38 per quintal, based on which the wheat procurement process was launched. However, local markets including those in Janakpur are offering up to Rs 4,400 per quintal, prompting farmers to sell their produce to private traders instead.
Nirmal Thapa, head of the provincial food office in Janakpur, said farmers visited the office to inquire about the price but opted not to sell due to the lower government rate. “They are selling directly to private buyers who are offering better prices,” he said.
The office had aimed to purchase 2,500 quintals of wheat from farmers in Dhanusha and Mahottari districts this year. The procurement target was set at up to 50 quintals per farmer and 500 quintals per cooperative.
The procurement drive was announced earlier this year after the wheat harvest in Falgun and Chaitra. A free weighing scale was also installed inside the office compound to facilitate the purchase process.
According to Thapa, farmers are required to clean their wheat and meet quality standards, along with a recommendation letter from the concerned local authority. Payments were to be made via bank cheque, as stated in the office’s public notice.
Despite a meeting chaired by the chief district officers of Dhanusha and Mahottari to formally initiate procurement, farmers have continued to bypass the government system in favor of more lucrative private deals.
Meanwhile, the office has also reported a shortfall in paddy procurement for the current fiscal year. Of the targeted 32,000 quintals, only 5,346 quintals have been purchased so far—a deficit of 26,654 quintals.
Farmers have again cited low government prices as the reason for not selling. While the government had fixed the procurement rate for paddy at Rs 3,580 per quintal, market prices have been closer to Rs 4,000, making private buyers a more attractive option.
Even though the office had signed agreements with four cooperatives to help meet procurement targets, low farmer participation has meant the goals remain unmet.
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