Kathmandu. The government has directed to provide about three billion rupees of arrears of milk producers across the country by mid-Ashar. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has discussed with the Nepal Dairy Association, the umbrella organization of the dairy industry, the issue of providing arrears of milk farmers and has directed to settle the amount immediately.
Various dairy industries run by the private sector have been in trouble as they have not paid for the milk sold by farmers for a long time. The ministry’s information officer Mahananda Joshi informed that since this work may affect production and market supply, the payment should be made as soon as possible by mid-Ashar of the current fiscal year.
The government has been providing various concessions and technical and creative support to the Dairy Association, which has been running various programs in all provinces to raise public awareness about daily quality milk consumption and increase the consumption of nutritious milk and dairy products.
The Dairy Development Corporation has already provided about 900 million rupees in arrears to farmers as of mid-December, and the process of paying the remaining amount has begun, said Joshi, information officer.
The ministry has been providing subsidies to farmers in livestock and agricultural insurance, seeds, fertilizers, and agricultural equipment. Various farmers’ organizations have also been demanding timely payment of milk farmers’ dues.
Nepal Farmers’ Federation President Ganesh Prasad Timilsina said that the government should take strict action to recover the amount due to farmers from the dairy industry, which makes a profit by making various milk-based dishes from the milk produced by farmers.
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