Govt entices cooperatives to buy paddy

KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 21

The government has decided to provide subsidies to the cooperatives that buy paddy from farmers.

A Cabinet meeting held on Monday decided to provide subsidy worth of Rs 112 per quintal to the cooperatives that directly buy paddy from the farmers.

Aiming at supporting farmers to sell their produce, the government has sought help from the cooperatives. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development had fixed the support price of paddy before the onset of the monsoon season.

According to Agriculture Minister Ghanshyam Bhusal, the cooperatives that buy paddy from farmers at the minimum price set by the government will get a subsidy of Rs 112 per quintal from the government.

The government has set the minimum support price of Rs 2,735 per quintal for thick sized paddy, and Rs 2,885 per quintal for medium-sized paddy.

Minister Bhusal informed that the ministry had taken the proposal of providing subsidy to the cooperatives to entice them to purchase paddy from farmers to the Cabinet after holding several rounds of discussion with the representatives of the cooperatives.

As per the ministry, around 175 cooperatives have expressed interest to purchase around 1.5 million tonnes of paddy from farmers. When purchasing paddy, the cooperatives will buy paddy with 18 per cent moisture at the minimum support price. If the moisture content is higher than that, the price will be determined by reducing the weight of one per cent moisture to 1,200 grams, the ministry said.

The ministry is confident that this decision will lead to effective implementation of the minimum support price and benefit the farmers by ensuring market for their produce.

The ministry plans to increase the role of cooperatives in the agricultural economy and establish leadership of cooperatives in all sectors, including fertilisers, seeds, warehouses, cold stores, nurseries and production in the future.

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