Dhangadi, October 21

Local farmers in Kailali have been compelled to sell paddy at a lower price.

The farmers are preparing to sell the paddy at very low price as the government has yet to fix the price. They started to sell paddy at lower price to buy agriculture materials for other seasonal crops.

The government had fixed the price of paddy only after farmers had sold their paddy last year.

Ram Prasad Rana, a farmer in Dhangadi sub-metropolis-10, said the farmers sold paddy before the price was fixed because the authority concerned had delayed in fixing the price. “We are compelled to sell paddy at a low price due to the delay in price-fixing,” he added. Rana said they could not afford to buy necessary fertiliser, fuel and other required items for other seasonal crops until they sold their stock of paddy.

Meanwhile, Food Management and Trade Company Limited, Dhangadi, urged farmers not to sell the paddy at lower rate until the price was fixed. The government is yet to fix the price of paddy.

Chief at Food Management and Trade Company Limited, Dhangadi, Anil Kumar Shrestha said most probably the price of paddy would be fixed after Tihar festival. “The farmers are requested to wait till Tihar to sell paddy,” he added.

The company will buy 50 to 60 quintal paddy from farmers this year. The company will supply the paddy to different districts.