Paddy procurement begins in Kanchanpur from today

Kanchanpur: The Food Management and Trading Company Limited has started purchasing paddy from farmers in Kanchanpur from today.

According to Mahikaran Mahara, branch chief of the company, the procurement will be carried out as per the government’s support price for paddy. He informed that the company will purchase a total of 5,000 quintals of paddy in the district this year. “We will purchase 5,000 quintals of paddy in the first phase,” he said. “The amount may be increased later as per the requirement.”

The company has limited this year’s target to 5,000 quintals after failing to meet the procurement targets in previous years. Although a target of 15,000 quintals was set last year, only about 20 percent of the target was met, with 2,951 quintals purchased.

In the fiscal year 2080/81, the Food Corporation had aimed to purchase 14,000 quintals of paddy from farmers but managed to procure only 3,000 quintals. The reduced target this year follows the consistent shortfall in previous procurement efforts.

The Corporation has fixed the price of coarse paddy at Rs 3,463 per quintal. Paddy cultivation covers 48,000 hectares in Kanchanpur, with an average productivity of four metric tons per hectare.