Farmers in Kailali are now busy harvesting wheat, the second main crop after paddy.
While the local level election activities are increasing with hoards of party leaders entering the villages, the farmers can be seen harvesting wheat since early in the morning.
“There is work in the farmland as the wheat has ripened. There is no time with us to engage in other things,” said Ballu Chaudhary of Bangara in Dhangadhi Sub-metropolitan City-9.
The farmers are either threshing or cutting the wheat in their field. As the farmers suffered huge losses after the unseasonal rains and floods in October last year had caused severe damage to their paddy crop, they have started harvesting wheat this season to avoid similar damages.
Chaudhary said that the wheat was being harvested quickly and threshed. According to Sukdev Rana of Ghuiyaghat in Dhangadhi Sub-metropolitan City-10, threshed wheat is taken to store on the same day as they do not have to dry it for a long time like paddy.
“The wheat is all ripe. So we have to harvest and store it as soon as possible,” he said. He said that the farmers were scared after the rains and flood water damaged their paddy crop last year and they do not want to suffer the same this time.
The winter rains this year also caused some damage to the wheat crop. Farmers have stated that wheat production this year will fall because of rains in January.
Farmer Hariram Chaudhary said that although the wheat looked good, the production is less than expected.
Farmers say that the cost of harvesting and threshing is more expensive than the cost of wheat. The entrepreneurs harvesting wheat are charging Rs. 6,000 per bigha after diesel became expensive. Similarly, farmer Chaudhary said that those who cut with the reaper are taking Rs. 3,000 per bigha.
The issue was raised in the Sudurpaschim Provincial Assembly saying that the tractor dealers have started charging exorbitant rates for wheat threshing.
In a meeting of the Provincial Assembly on Friday, Province Assembly member Mahesh Dutta Joshi said that the farmers were in trouble after the rent of threshing was increased. He also drew the attention of the government to control inflation.
According to the Provincial Agriculture Directorate, wheat has been cultivated in an area of about 47,000 hectares in Kailali this year.
Source : TRN,
