Palpa. Khemraj Rana used to take potatoes to Bhairahawa due to the lack of cold storage in the village. It is not that easy to transport them from Rampur to Bhairahawa by car. He said that he used to take the produced potatoes to the cold storage in Bhairahawa to keep them safe after spending on transportation costs.
Today, Rana does not have to take the potatoes to Bhairahawa to store them in the cold storage. He said that it has become much easier after the cold storage center was put into use in the village. Rana has brought 50 sacks of potatoes from the upper farmers’ vegetable group to the Rampur cold storage built here. The Rampur Municipality has issued a notice from Monday and called on farmers to store potatoes in the cold storage. Last year, Rana had stored 50 sacks of potatoes through the group.
‘Last year, the potatoes stored in the Rampur cold storage were good, so we have brought them this year as well. It has become easier since we have the facility to store them in the humidity center in the village itself. We used to store potatoes in Bhairahawa until the cold storage was built here. Now we don’t have to rush to take them to Bhairahawa,” he said. Rana believes that farmers will get a fair price if they store them now and later take them out and sell them during the off-season.
74-year-old Lekhnath Pokharel of Rampur-6 says that having a cold storage at their place gives them the confidence to store potatoes safely. He said that the cold storage facility has increased production in recent years. This year, he has grown both food and seed potatoes They prepared to store 15 sacks.
‘Cold storage has made it very easy for farmers. Farmers who produce a small amount and produce only for household purposes have a problem carrying and bringing 10-15 sacks of potatoes to and from cold storages in Bhairahawa, Pokhara and other places. With the facility in Rampur, it is easy to store and can be taken out when needed,’ Pokharel said.
Acting Mayor of Rampur Municipality Dobaraj Tiwari informed that preparations are being made to store 1,500 sacks of potatoes not only from Rampur but also from Syangja Chapakot Municipality. He said that the municipality will arrange a daily supervisor to look after the potatoes. He said that the work of storing potatoes is currently being carried out by mobilizing the employees of the agriculture branch.
‘This time, it is estimated that 3,500 to 4,000 sacks will be stored. Many places are contacting to store potatoes. We have given priority to the locals first,” he said. “The municipality will manage the potatoes stored here safely. The farmers are excited to be able to store them safely.”
The municipality itself is also making arrangements for storing and removing the potatoes brought here. Yubaraj Nepali, an employee of the agriculture branch of Rampur Municipality, informed that they are stored by charging a storage fee of Rs. 6 per kilogram from the farmers. According to him, 3,370 bags of seeds and ware potatoes were stored here last year.
Farmers have already used the potato storage facility three times since the construction of the cold storage facility here. In the first year, some potatoes kept as a test had problems with germination, and were restored and put into operation. After good storage in the second and third years, farmers have stopped taking potatoes to outside cold storage facilities. The ware potatoes currently stored will be removed in Bhadau and Asoj, while the potatoes kept for seed purposes will be removed in Kartik by publishing a public notice.
Mayor Raman Bahadur Thapa says that a cold storage facility with a capacity of 300 metric tons has been constructed and put into use to safely store the agricultural produce produced by farmers. Mayor Thapa said that since potatoes are produced in large quantities in the Rampur area, it has become much easier for farmers to keep their potato crops safely.
The municipality had awarded the contract to Bhagwati Adhikari Neupane of Rambha Rural Municipality-1 Hungi in the first year, and to Suryodaya Agricultural Cooperative in the second and third years, and it will be managed and operated by the municipality itself in the fourth year.
The construction was completed in Baisakh 2078 BS and the cold storage was put into use. This is the largest capacity cold storage in Palpa. It was constructed by Rabina and Abisha JV Construction Pvt. Ltd. jointly with the Lumbini Provincial Government’s grant for Rs. 32.676 million and a contract was signed for the construction. Storage will be available in five rooms of different capacities. RSS
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