Kathmandu. Farmers here have been compelled to sell paddy to traders at a cheaper rate to celebrate the approaching festivals. The Food Management and Trading Company Limited has fixed the price of coarse paddy at Rs 3,660 per quintal and medium paddy at Rs 3,860 per quintal this year. However, traders are buying paddy at Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 cheaper than the price fixed by the company, said Dhruba Thapa, a farmer of Suiyagaun in Nepalgunj-19.

“This year, the paddy has grown well and there is no place to store it till the time of purchase. He said, “Farmers have to sell paddy to traders at a cheaper price this time as it is difficult to meet the expenses of the festivals.” ’

He said that although the Food Management and Trading Company (FMTC) purchases paddy at a high rate, it is delayed and the procurement process is cumbersome.

Last year, the company had fixed Rs 3,463 for coarse paddy and Rs 3,628 for medium. The company’s main branch office in Nepalgunj had purchased paddy with a quota of 20,000 quintals last year, but this year the quota has not been fixed so far.

Gehendra Dhital, a farmer of Khajura Rural Municipality-2, said that farmers have been forced to sell paddy at a lower price as the Food Management and Trading Company Limited and local cooperatives have not started purchasing paddy. He said that even though the government has fixed the support price of paddy, the traders have kept the price on their own. Most of the farmers in Banke have already brought paddy to their homes before Dashain.

“There is no preparation for the company to buy paddy on time, traders are buying paddy at a cheaper rate in the market. “We are forced to sell the hard work of the whole year at a loss,” said Dhital. He said that most of the middle and low-level farmers are forced to sell the paddy they have just brought in and sell it at a cheap price to raise money for the festival.

Ram Sharan Lamichhane, chief of the Food Management and Trade Company Limited Nepalgunj, said that although the price of paddy has been fixed by the center, the procurement quota has not been fixed yet. He said that the procurement will start as soon as the letter of the quota is fixed from the center.