Potato farmers worry about lack of market

Rukumpurba / Aug. 27: Farmers in Rukumpurba have been worried over the lack of market to sell potatoes.

Every household from Putha Uttarganga Rural Municipality of the district has stored potatoes while half of the potato is ready for harvest in the field.

The farmers from the villages of Tak, Sera, Damchan, Ghimliwang, Mayang, Gar and Chargaon are worried about why they were not able to sell even a kg of potato. It is the second staple after maize in the district.

Member of Chewang Farmers’ Group, Satmaya Budha, expressed that farmers were fretted about whether the potato will remain normal. It may decay if it is not properly stored or sold on time, she added.

According to her, the farmers produced huge amounts of potatoes with a land pooling scheme but failed to get market. There is neither market nor proper storage at home, Budha shared.

Moreover, the farmers have covered the harvest time potato with tarpaulin sheets in the field in an attempt to avoid rotting. If the potato is left as it is, it loses taste, she viewed.

The people here are in dire need of a bridge over the Uttarganga River for convenient public mobility and transportation of goods to the Rukumkot bazaar.

Similarly, the Secretary of the 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 of transportation is not covered, they shared the plight.

Farmer Dhan Bahadur Oli from Bhume Rural Municipality-9 said the potato stored at home was rotting because there is no market. Other farmers are also anxious over the sale of their products.

Bhume Rural Municipality-7 also has a similar plight. Although the potato was produced under a project, difficult and costly transportation, distant market, lack of collection centre and no assistance from any side have caused worry.

Meanwhile, the Chief of Integrated Agriculture and Livestock Development Office in the district, Pitambar Basnet, admitted that difficult and distant geography was a reason behind poor market management for potatoes. However, farmers had not fixed the potato price, which he claimed, was also hindering market management.