Sugarcane Farmers in Nawalparasi Face Financial Crisis Due to Unpaid Dues

Butwal. Rameshwor Koiri of Pratapapur Rural Municipality-9 in Nawalparasi had cultivated sugarcane on 7 bighas of land. He has received payment for only seven days of sugarcane sold to Lumbini Sugar Mill in Sunwal. The amount he received was spent on tractor rent, fertilizer, and wages for laborers loading sugarcane. He says he still has more than Rs 3 lakh to receive from Lumbini Sugar Mill in Sunwal. "It became difficult to run the household as I did not receive the amount for 6-7 months," he says, "I still have about Rs 4 lakh to receive for sugarcane sold to other sugar mills in Nawalparasi two years ago." Yuvraj Adhikari of Pratapapur Rural Municipality-6, Guthi Prasouni, is in a similar situation. He stated that he is owed Rs 2.7 million from Indira Sugar Mill in Pratapapur. After not receiving payment for two years, he sold this year's sugarcane to Bagmati Sugar Mill and Lumbini Sugar Mill in Sunwal, but he complains that he still has about Rs 3 lakh to receive from the mill. Similarly, Dhananjay Kushwaha of Harsoura, Pratapapur Rural Municipality-4, said that he is owed Rs 2.60 lakh from Lumbini Sugar Mill in Sunwal. He complained that he has not yet received more than Rs 3.5 million for sugarcane sold to Indira Sugar Mill last year. Kushwaha, who cultivates sugarcane on his 14 bighas and 24 bighas of rented land, says he hopes to get paid eventually from the operating mills, but he is worried about how to recover the money from Indira Sugar Mill, which has closed down. Many in Nawalparasi are not receiving payment from sugar mills like this. Indira Sugar Mill here has not been able to pay farmers for two years, while the operational Lumbini and Bagmati Sugar Mills are also delaying payments. On the other hand, farmers are suffering even more as the support price set by the government in previous years has also been withheld. **Government's Governance Reform Agenda Hesitates to Implement** The problem of sugarcane farmers across the country is similar to that here. Although the government has made commitments from time to time, farmers are forced to agitate repeatedly for the payments they are due because these commitments are not implemented in practice. The government's governance reform agenda, published in March, includes a provision under point number 90, under the agriculture sector heading (b), which mandates that payment for agricultural produce purchased from farmers must be made within a maximum of 25 days. This agenda has also been sent to the District Administration Offices. However, sugarcane farmers are complaining that the decision is not being implemented. Sugarcane farmer Yuvraj Adhikari says that the government's announced provision of payment within 25 days is not being implemented in practice. Recalling that Indira Sugar Mill was previously padlocked, he said that although the local administration and public representatives had assured him that the problem would be resolved, he still has not received the money. The National Agricultural Labor Union Nepal, West Nawalparasi District Committee, has also submitted a letter of attention to the District Administration Office in Nawalparasi, stating that although sugarcane farmers are included in the government's announced governance reform program, it is not being implemented. The memorandum submitted to the Chief District Officer mentions that although the government decided to ensure a fair price for agricultural produce and make payments for purchases mandatory within a maximum of 25 days, it has not been implemented in practice. The union stated that they had to seek the administration's help after repeated requests for payment from sugar mills and farms were ignored. Central General Secretary of the union, Gopal Yadav, said that the administration has assured them that a solution will be found after discussions with the sugar mills within a week. He warned that if the problem is not resolved, they will protest in front of the District Administration Office with the farmers. The Assistant Chief District Officer and Information Officer of the District Administration Office, Nawalparasi, Poshanraj Bhandari, said that the amount payable to sugarcane farmers in Nawalparasi is approximately Rs 8 crore. According to him, the exact amount is yet to be finalized between the farmers' claims and the sugar mill operators' data. He suspected that in some cases, local collectors might have also collected money in the name of the mill. Umeshchandra Yadav, District President of the Sugarcane Farmers' Association, said that Indira Sugar Mill has not paid farmers for two years and did not even crush sugarcane last year. According to him, the operational Lumbini and Bagmati Sugar Mills are also delaying payments. He also complained that farmers have not received the support price set by the government in previous years. Assistant Chief District Officer Bhandari said that further discussion is needed on the issue of support price. He said that more complaints are coming from farmers regarding last year's outstanding amount than the current year's, and discussions are ongoing with the concerned parties regarding payment. According to National Agricultural Labor Union Central Secretary Gopal Yadav, farmers are yet to receive payments from Indira Sugar Mill Gangapur and Tatwa Nepal Farm Limited-Kathahwa for the fiscal year 2081/82. For the fiscal year 2082/83, Bagmati Khadsari Kudia and Lumbini Sugar Mill Sunwal are also delaying payments. Similarly, farmers say that Bagmati Khadsari Kudia has not yet paid the outstanding amount at the rate of Rs 7.77 per quintal for the fiscal year 2077/78. The Federation alleges that farmers were misled by paying only Rs 20 per quintal in 2079/80 and Rs 25 per quintal in 2080/81. There are 3 major sugar mills in the district: Bagmati Khadsari, Lumbini, and Indira. Indira, however, is closed with outstanding payments to farmers. **Interest in Sugarcane Cultivation Decreases Due to Non-Payment** Due to non-payment on time, farmers in Nawalparasi are starting to shift away from sugarcane cultivation to alternative farming. Even months after selling, they are not receiving payment, so they are turning to other crops like banana and paddy. Yuvraj Adhikari, a farmer from Guthhi Prasouni in Pratapapur Rural Municipality, used to cultivate sugarcane on 30 bighas of land a few years ago. However, as Indira Sugar Mill faced financial difficulties, he gradually reduced his sugarcane cultivation. He is now cultivating bananas. Talking to Ratopati, he said, "I used to plant sugarcane on up to 30 bighas then. But the money from the mill stopped coming. I still have Rs 2.7 million to receive." Therefore, he said that he is now cultivating sugarcane on only 7 bighas and bananas on the rest. Like Adhikari, Rameshwor Koiri of Pratapapur is also attracted to banana cultivation rather than sugarcane. Koiri, who previously cultivated sugarcane on 7 bighas, has now reduced it to 3 bighas and is cultivating bananas on the rest. Umeshchandra Yadav, District President of the Nawalparasi Sugarcane Farmers' Association, says that sugarcane cultivation requires high costs, but farmers are forced to cultivate other crops due to non-payment on time. "Sugarcane requires a lot of effort and investment, and the sugar mill does not pay on time, so farmers are discouraged," he said. According to the Nawalparasi Agricultural Knowledge Center, sugarcane cultivation, which was previously done on about 7,500 hectares, has now decreased to 5,000 hectares.