KATHMANDU: Farmers in the district are facing hardships after commercially produced vegetables failed to fetch fair prices in the local market.
With prices dropping below production costs, growers say they are unable to recover even basic expenses, leaving them increasingly worried.
Laxmi Ranabhat, a farmer from Bharatpur Metropolitan City–25, Buddhichowk, who has been engaged in commercial vegetable farming for the past two decades, said produce such as beans, cucumber, snake gourd and bitter gourd are being sold at as low as Rs 5 per kg.
“We are forced to sell most vegetables at throwaway prices,” she said.
Ranabhat, who cultivates vegetables on 12 bighas of land, said many farmers like her have been severely affected by the price slump. According to her, some farmers are now leaving vegetables to rot in the fields as harvesting costs cannot be recovered.
A similar concern was raised by farmer Sumina Thapa, who grows vegetables on two bighas of land. She said crops such as beans and cucumber currently standing in her fields are not being harvested due to lack of buyers.
“I left beans grown on 10 katthas unharvested because there is no price,” she said, blaming middlemen for the situation.
Farmers say the widening gap between farmgate prices and retail prices has made it difficult for them to sell their produce, with intermediaries benefiting while producers incur losses.
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