Minimum support price for nine crops in Swargadwari.

Shivlal Pun Magar from Ward 2 of Swargadwari Municipality has undertaken commercial vegetable farming on 7 ropanis of land. He is confident about receiving a fair price for his produce. The reason is that if Shivlal or other farmers in the municipality do not receive the annual minimum support price set by the municipality, Swargadwari Municipality will provide a subsidy. The condition that the municipality will provide a subsidy if the produce is sold for less than the minimum support price has given confidence in agricultural production, he said.

In Dhanwang, more than a dozen farmers are engaged in commercial vegetable farming. Their produce reaches vegetable shops and wholesalers in the district, including Chakkhake, Bhingri, Kimichaur, Suli Chaur in Rolpa, and Khungri. He no longer worries about how to manage household expenses if he does not get the expected price. ‘Our concern is to protect the crops from diseases,’ Pun Magar said, ‘If we do not get the price, the municipality will provide it.’ He claims that this has created a favorable environment for vegetable farming.

For Purun Bahadur Ghartey Magar from Ward 9 of Swargadwari Municipality, the market for vegetables has become stable after the municipality set the support price. He mentioned that creating and operating weekly markets and collection centers would further ease the process. He has cultivated vegetables on 14 ropanis of land. One day a week, a collection center operates in Jaluke, Ward 3 of Swargadwari Municipality.

He provided information that from the 7th of Shrawan, the collection center will operate one day a week, and Swargadwari Municipality will arrange transportation from the fields to the center. As the chairman of the Swargadwari Municipality Market Management Committee, he emphasized that the municipality should select and implement subsidy programs based on the farmers' demands and needs to encourage production.

Swargadwari Municipality has set the minimum support price for nine types of vegetables: tomatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, bitter gourd, beans, bottle gourd, cucumber, green chili, and squash. Bhoj Bahadur Bhandari, Chief Administrative Officer of Swargadwari Municipality, informed that the municipality has issued and implemented the guidelines for the minimum price of agricultural produce in 2079 (B.S.) to promote and encourage agricultural production.

On the 24th of Shrawan, a notice was issued providing information about the minimum support price for nine vegetable crops. ‘If the farmers do not receive the set price, the municipality will bear the loss,’ Bhandari said. ‘An additional incentive price of Rs. 5 per kilogram will also be provided.’

To facilitate the delivery of locally produced goods to consumers, Swargadwari Municipality, along with the Agricultural and Livelihood Promotion (GAL) Project and the facilitation organization Prjwalit Social Enterprise Cooperative Ltd., is managing the sale and distribution.