Kathmandu, November 30
The government has committed to purchasing 500,000 quintals of paddy this year.
The Food Management and Trading Company has taken swift action to speed up paddy procurement, ensuring a sufficient quantity in government food stores and fair prices for farmers.
Mohan Chand, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, confirmed the initiation of the procurement process for 500,000 quintals of paddy valued at Rs 1.74 billion this year.
“We have already commenced the paddy procurement,” said Chand.
The company has acknowledged criticism for the slow pace of paddy procurement last year and has responded by increasing both the quantity of paddy procured and the government allocation this year.
The procurement process for paddy from the Far West has begin post Dashain this year. Currently, the company is actively procuring paddy from Mahendranagar, Dhangadhi, and Rajapur.
Last year, the government could only purchase 134,000 quintals of paddy despite initiating the procurement process for 300,000 quintals.
The company has confirmed that the procurement of paddy is being conducted at the minimum support prices established by the government in July.
As per the government’s directives, the minimum price for coarse paddy has been set at Rs 3,198 per quintal, while the minimum price for medium paddy is fixed at Rs 3,362 per quintal.
