Onus on government to implement minimum support price for paddy

The government has fixed the minimum support price of paddy for fiscal year 2023/24 much earlier this year compared to last year. 

The cabinet meeting held on July 11 fixed the minimum support price. The minimum support price of paddy has been set at Rs 3,198 per quintal for thick rice, which is Rs 231 higher than the previous fiscal year. Similarly, the minimum support price of medium rice has been fixed at Rs 3,362 per quintal, which is Rs 262 more than the previous fiscal year. 

Last year, the government had fixed the minimum support price for paddy in October. This delay compelled farmers to sell paddy at lower prices. As a result, many farmers couldn’t even recover their cost of production. Since government agencies such as the Food Management and Trading Company Ltd and the Farm Modernization Project also delayed paddy procurement, farmers were left with no option but to accept whatever prices the traders offered. 

As per the standard, the government should fix the minimum support price before the seedbed is prepared. Although the government fixed the support price during the paddy transplantation season, agriculture expert Krishna Prasad Poudel said it was still late. “The government should fix the minimum support price before the seedbed is prepared. Since spring paddy is transplanted in March, the price should be fixed a month before that,” Poudel said. “This would enable farmers to compare their cost of production with the prices offered and decide whether to cultivate paddy. If the returns are high, they would cultivate it in more areas.”

Prem Dangal, chairman of the National Farmers’ Commission, said the minimum support price would mean nothing until the government agrees to buy all the paddy that farmers grow. “The government agencies procured only 31,000 tons of paddy last year, although 2m tons of paddy are sold in the market every year,” Dangal added. “The government should make necessary preparations to procure all the paddy that farmers intend to sell. Otherwise, there is no point in fixing a minimum support price.” 

However, as the minimum support price fixed by the government is higher than the market price, government agencies have been facing difficulty in selling paddy procured from farmers. As a result, they procured paddy at a much later date last year.

Sharmila Neupane Subedi, the spokesperson for the Food Management and Trading Company Ltd, said they would soon issue a circular to all their subordinate offices to make necessary preparations for paddy procurement.