Support price of paddy fixed in Jhapa, FMTC to buy 50,000 quintals

Jhapa: The Food Management and Trade Company (FMTC) Limited is going to purchase 50,000 quintals of paddy in Jhapa.

For it, the FMTC has set the support price of paddy at Rs. 3,580.62 per quintal, said Chief of FMTC office in Birtamod, Chulmaya Lowa.

In the first phase, the company will purchase 15,000 quintals of Sonamansuli and 5,000 quintals of Ranjitmansuli paddy. Overall, it will procure at least 50,000 quintals of paddy from farmers in the district. The support price set by the company is reportedly higher than the current market price of paddy.

This year, Jhapa district has produced 385,196.5 metric tons of paddy. According to Agriculture Knowledge Centre, Jhapa, the paddy production has increased in Jhapa district although the area of paddy plantation was lower this year compared to the previous years.

Information officer of the center, Chetraj Bhandari, shared that paddy was cultivated in 75,459 hectares of land this year leading to a productivity of 5.10 metric tons per hectare. Paddy production has increased this year by 8,791 metric tons compared to last year.

Bhandari said that the production has increased due to favorable weather conditions, availability of fertilizers as well as quality and advanced paddy seeds.