Kanchanpur Farmers Dissatisfied with Government's Wheat Support Price

Kanchanpur. Farmers have expressed their disagreement with the wheat support price set by the government.

The government has set the support price for wheat at Rs 3,945 per quintal this year. However, farmers hit by inflation are worried as the government-fixed price fails to even cover their production costs. 

Farmers complain that with the recent rise in fuel prices increasing production costs, the government-fixed price does not even cover their expenses.

“Compared to last year, expenses from plowing to threshing have increased,” said Rajesh Rana of Bhimdutta Municipality-16, Kanchanpur. “The price set by the government does not even cover our investment; like other goods, the price of farmers' produce should also increase.” Rana, who farms wheat on five kattha of leased land, stated that farmers never receive a fair price for their produce.

Even though the government has set a price for wheat, farmers are suffering because the Food Management and Trading Company Limited in Kanchanpur has not started purchasing their wheat. “The government set the price, but it has not started buying farmers' wheat,” said Anita Bogati of Dodhara Chandani-2. “Because the government does not set the support price on time and delays the purchase, farmers are forced to sell their wheat at a cheap price.”

 Local resident Bishnu Joshi stated that the government's failure to set the support price on time, combined with cumbersome and delayed procurement processes, allows middlemen to buy farmers' produce at low prices. 

“We lack storage facilities for our produce, and the government does not buy it on time,” he said. “Now that costs have increased, the price set by the government does not even cover our expenses.”

He suggested that when setting prices, the government should consider the inflation of other goods in the market and set a fair price for farmers' produce. 

Mahikaran Mahara, office chief of the Food Management and Trading Company Limited, Mahendranagar, stated that they have been unable to purchase wheat from farmers because the procurement quota has not been determined.

 “So far, the quota for how much wheat to purchase from this center has not been determined,” he said. “As soon as the quota is determined, we will issue a notice for wheat procurement.”

Kanchanpur has a total of 161,741 hectares of arable land. Out of this, wheat is cultivated on 31,210 hectares.