Widespread Crop Damage Post-Storms Leaves Farmers in Limbo Amid Government Data Vacuum

Kathmandu. Devastating storms and unseasonal rains across various parts of the country have caused losses amounting to crores in the agricultural sector. However, the responsible government agencies lack any consolidated and official data regarding this damage.

Even a week after strong winds destroyed maize, banana, and expensive tunnel farming crops from the Terai to the hills, government offices have failed to collect the necessary statistics.

Farmers complain that while their hard work is rotting in the fields, government officials are trying to evade responsibility by citing structural weaknesses.

The current state of the government is illustrated by the statement of Tilak Raj Chaulagai, Information Officer at the Department of Agriculture, regarding the lethargy and statistical confusion within the government machinery.

According to him, even after such a massive natural disaster, the federal government does not have confirmed data on the extent of the damage. Chaulagai says, 'In the current situation, local levels might be collecting damage reports in their respective areas, but there is no effective mechanism for those reports to reach the center.' He admitted that the federal government is in no position to claim the extent of the damage right now and indicated that relief and rehabilitation plans cannot move forward due to the lack of data.

Farmer leader Badri Kandel says, 'This shows that until the local and provincial governments formally send reports, the billions in losses suffered by farmers remain 'zero' in the eyes of the central government.'

A senior official from the Ministry of Agriculture states, 'After the implementation of federalism, the administrative presence in the agricultural sector has diminished at the lower levels.' According to the official, previously, there were district agriculture offices under the central government in every district, which would immediately go to the field upon any natural calamity to collect damage reports and send them to the center. But now, those offices have been abolished, and the responsibility for the agricultural sector has shifted to the local levels. 'The irony is that local levels have stopped reporting the damage in their areas to the center or the province,' he said. 'Local levels do not report, the provincial governments have their own limitations; how can consolidated data emerge in such a situation? The current state appears merely provisional.'

An employee at the Ministry of Agriculture suggests that the bureaucracy is waiting for a change in government and the arrival of a new minister, causing farmers' problems to be overlooked. 'It seems the file for relief and compensation will only move forward after a new minister arrives,' he added.

The National Farmers' Group Federation, which advocates for farmers' rights, has been demanding that the government provide relief and compensation as soon as possible. Federation Chairman Panchakaji Shrestha accuses the government of never taking farmers' problems seriously. According to Shrestha, storms, floods, and droughts make farmers destitute every year, but the relief provided by the state is like 'a drop in the ocean' (literally 'a cumin seed in an elephant's mouth'). He says, 'The government must take seriously when farmers' sweat-produced crops are destroyed.'

Chairman Shrestha demanded that the government immediately deploy technical teams to provide compensation to farmers without using data collection as an excuse. According to farmer leader Kandel, if the government does not provide timely relief, young people attracted to commercial farming will be forced to go to Gulf countries again, which will further weaken the country's economy.

Complications in Insurance Too

The mismanagement seen in agricultural insurance and compensation is equally alarming. According to Bishnu Hari Paudel, coordinator of the Chitwan Banana Superzone, farmers have insurance, but insurance companies create so many hurdles in providing compensation that farmers do not receive money for years. There is no certainty when farmers who have not received last year's compensation will receive this year's.

According to award-winning farmer Chandra Bahadur Basnet from Jhapa, the government introduces an insurance program one year and discontinues it the next without notice. Such unstable policy pushes farmers into greater risk.

Overall, the storms have caused significant problems for farmers in areas including Sarlahi, Rautahat, Chitwan, Sindhuli, Jhapa, and Dhankuta. 'The state mechanism has proven completely unsuccessful for farmers. This delay in data collection and the indifference of government officials mock the very spirit of federalism,' says farmer leader Rameshwar Yadav from Rautahat. 'Delaying the addressal of demands for relief and compensation is tantamount to collapsing the country's agricultural sector,' he adds.