Farmers suffer as govt. fails to fix paddy price on time

Farmers have been compelled to bear the brunt as the government has delayed fixing the floor price for paddy. Last year the government had determined the minimum support price of paddy around mid-September. The farmers have felt uneasy while being busy harvesting paddy at most places across the country due to the delay in fixing the floor price of paddy by the government this year.

Farmers have felt cheated as the local merchants have started to purchase paddy at a cheap price.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development had proposed the floor price in mid-July, and the proposal has now reached the Council of Ministers through the Ministry of Industry, according to Prakash Kumar Sanjel, spokesperson of the agriculture ministry.

He informed that the proposal is yet to be approved by the Cabinet and that as the election code of conduct has been in place, it is needed to acquire approval from Election Commission prior to fixing the price. Observers argue that the fixation of the support price of paddy is unlikely before the election due to the code of conduct.