RUKUMPURBA, AUGUST 27
Farmers in Rukumpurba are worried about lack of market to sell potatoes.
Every household from Putha Uttarganga Rural Municipality of the district has stored potatoes while half of the potatoes are ready for harvest in the field.
Farmers from the villages Tak, Sera, Damchan, Ghimliwang, Mayang, Gar and Chargaon are worried after they failed to sell even a kg of potato. Potato is the second staple after maize in the district. Member of Chewang Farmers' Group Satmaya Budha said farmers were keeping the potatoes safe for a long time. Potatoes may start rotting if not properly stored, she added.
According to her, the farmers produced huge amount of potatoes with land pooling scheme, but failed to get market. There is neither market nor proper storage at home, Budha shared. Moreover, farmers have covered harvest time potatoes with tarpaulin sheets in the field in an attempt to prevent rotting. If the potatoes are left as it is, they lose taste, she said.
The people here are in dire need of bridge over the Uttarganga River for convenient public mobility and transportation of goods to Rukumkot Bazaar.
Similarly, Secretary of Model Farmers' Group from Ward No 11 of the rural municipality Hridaya Budha complained that potatoes produced at Damchan village had also not got market.
Currently, a kg of potato costs Rs 100 in the market. If it is sold at Rs 100 per kg from the field, even the cost for transportation is not covered, they said.
Farmer Dhan Bahadur Oli from Bhume Rural Municipality said the potatoes stored at home started rotting because there was no market. Other farmers are also anxious about the sale of their produce. Bhume Rural Municipality also has a similar plight. Although the potatoes were produced under a project, difficult and costly transportation, distant market, lack of collection centre and no assistance from any side has caused worry.
Meanwhile, Chief of Integrated Agriculture and Livestock Development Office in the district Pitambar Basnet admitted that difficult and distant topography was the reason behind poor market management for potato. However, farmers had not fixed the potato price, which he claimed, was also hindering market management.
A version of this article appears in the print on August 28, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
