सिंहदरबार संवाददाता
Janakpurdham. The Food Management and Trading Company Limited, a provincial office owned by the Government of Nepal, has purchased less rice than the target in the current fiscal year.
The target was to purchase thirty-two thousand quintals of rice. However, the office has stated that it has been able to purchase only five thousand three hundred and forty-six quintals of rice. According to the details received from the office, it is stated that 26,654 quintals of paddy were purchased less than the set target.
Since the market price was higher than the set support price, farmers did not sell their produce there and sold it in the private sector market, so the target of paddy purchase was not met, said Devendra Rai, head of the office.
Although the government had instructed to purchase paddy at the rate of Rs 3,580 per quintal, the office was unable to purchase paddy as farmers sold paddy at the rate of about Rs 4,000 per quintal in the market, he informed.
Although the office had entered into an agreement with four cooperative organizations to purchase paddy to achieve the target, the target was not achieved as farmers did not come. The office staff has said that there is no such thing.
The office located in Mujelia, Janakpur, had started a kanta (rice purchasing center) for purchasing rice within the office premises from November 24. The office had issued a notice to purchase 32,000 quintals of Sona Mansuli paddy from farmers in Dhanusha this year.
Office chief Rai said that the government had set the support price for purchasing Sona Mansuli paddy from farmers in Dhanusha this year at Rs 3,580 per quintal.
On the recommendation of the relevant local level agriculture branch of Dhanusha and in the notice issued by the office, it was stated that when farmers bring paddy for sale, the paddy should be cleaned and meet the standards set by the office and that payment for the paddy sale would be made through cheques.
However, despite issuing notices repeatedly, the farmers have not come to sell the paddy, he said. According to the Agricultural Knowledge Center Office, Dhanusha, Janakpurdham, this year, 166,260 metric tons of rice was produced in the district on an area of 41,566 hectares.
Earlier, Chief Rai informed that the rice procurement process for the office had started from a meeting of the District Primary Rice Procurement Committee chaired by Dhanusha Chief District Officer Rajuram Kadariya. This year, the office has planned to purchase wheat.
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