Last year, there was a huge human and crop loss all over the country in the span of October 18-October 20th, due to unseasonal heavy rain.
It has been a year since the news report regarding damage to crop production was published in INSEC Online, highlighting the issue of the Right to Food.
However, the government has not been able to provide relief or compensation to the farmers for the damage they suffered. Most of the farmers of Province 1 have not been able to receive any compensation yet.
According to Rajendra Upreti, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Agriculture of the state, in the hilly districts including Jhapa, Morang, and Sunsari, the crops were severely damaged last year due to heavy rain.
Last year around 83,300 hectares in Morang, 55,000 hectares in Sunsari, and 87,500 hectares in Jhapa were used to plant paddy. In Province 1, 8 thousand 737 hectares in Taplejung, 13 thousand 851 hectares in Sankhuwasabha, 1 thousand 525 hectares in Solukhumbhu, 9 thousand 200 hectares in Pachthar, 14 thousand 815 hectares in Ilam, 18 thousand hectares in Bhojpur, 10 thousand 175 hectares in Tehrithum, 7 thousand 950 hectares in Dhankuta, 13 thousand 300 hectares in Udaipur, 4 thousand 400 hectares in Okhaldhunga and 12 thousand 893 hectares of crop plantation.
Seventy-two people lost their lives in Province 1, from October 18 to October 20 due to a flood caused by monsoonal rains. Crops worth Crores were damaged.
The meeting of the Council of Ministers on September 14, 2021 compensation of 2 thousand 752 rupees per quintal of paddy and 9 hundred 2 rupees per quintal of medium-quality of rice for the farmers.
However, due to the lack of effective implementation of the Council of Ministers’ decision, most of the farmers of Province 1 have not been able to get appropriate compensation.
Article 36 of the Constitution of Nepal provides for the right to food as a fundamental right, sub-article of the same article stipulates that every citizen has food. Similarly, in the sub-article, every citizen has the right to food security, and sub-article every citizen has the right to food sovereignty according to the law.
According to Solukhumbu representative Anju Karki, 60 farmers of the district have received monetary relief for the damage to crops due to unseasonal rain from October 18th to October 19th, 2021.
According to the relevant local level government, about 60 people were compensated for the damaged corps due to last year’s unseasonal rain.
Durga Bahadur Tiruwa, head of Agriculture Knowledge Centre, 60 farmers, including 15 farmers from ThulungdudhKoshi Rural Municipality, 18 farmers from Nechasalyan Rural Municipality, 7 farmers from Sotang Rural Municiplaitu and 20 Soluduhkunda Municipality, have received monetary relief. The local level has provided 5000 to 7000 rupees based on the details of the farmer’s losses.
According to Agriculture Knowledge Centre, rice cultivation is done in the lower areas of Nechasalyan, Thulungdudhkoshi, and Sontag. According to the statistics of Gyan Kendra, out of the 1,500 hectares of rice planted last year, 418 hectares of crops were destroyed by rain and wind. Out of 2100 hectares of millet planted, 100 hectares of millet crops were destroyed.
According to the head of Krishi Gyan Kendra, Tiwari, despite the decision to publish monetary relief details of Council of Ministers has decided to publish monetary relief details to the farmers but hasn’t yet released the monetary relief yet.
According to Okhaldhunga representative, Saraswati Baniya, the farmers of the district who suffered damage due to heavy rainfall last year have not yet received relief or compensation yet. The details of the damage have been sent by Krishi Gyan Kendra to the Ministry of Agriculture through the District Administration Office, but the farmers have yet to receive the monetary relief. 22,670 Kattha of paddy fields were damaged. The farms of Siddhicharan Municipality, Molung Rural Municipality, Sunkoshi Rural Municipality, and Khijjidemba Rural Municipality have submitted the details of grain damage to Krishi Gyan Kendra. According to the details, 4 thousand 379 katthas in Sisshicharan Municipality, 6 thousand 138 katthas in Molung Rural Municipality, 7 thousand 738 katthas in Sunkoshi rural Municipality and 4 thousand 417 katthas in Khijidemba Rural Municipality.
According to Khotang Representative Taranath Phuyal, the farmers haven’t gotten monetary relief for the crop damages they suffered last year. According to Krishi Gyan Kendra, there was 26 crore 63 lakh 24 thousand 499 rupees worth of crop damage last year. Last year 8% of crops planted on 13,516 hectares of land were damaged. Hari Narayan Rai, head of Krishi Gyan Kendra, said that they have requested the Ministry of Home Affairs to provide compensation of 8 crores 35 Lakh 56 thousand 1 hundred and 4 rupees. According to TepPrasad Jaisi, Agriculture Officer of Diktel Rupakot Mazhuwagadhi Municipality, even after a year, the local level government hasn’t released the compensation amount.
According to Dhankuta representative Ishwar Thapa, some farmers have received compensation amount for the damage they suffered last year. According to the district Diaster Management Committee, a total amount of 6 lakh 42 thousand 7 hundred 84 rupees and 6 paisa has been distributed. According to Manoj Yadav, Crop protection Officer, Krishi Gyan Kendra, farmers who have lost their complete yield have received 65% of the loss as compensation, similarly, farmers suffering medium damage and partial have received 30% percent and 20% of damage respectively as compensation. Four local-level farmers in the district suffered crop damage due to the flood. Furthermore, in Chaubise Rural Municipality, 50 farmers had their crops completely damaged and 17 farmers suffered partial damage. In Mahalakshmi Municipality, 35 farmers, in Dhankuta Municipality 2 farmers and in Pakhirbas municipality 1 farmer had completely lost their crops to the flood. As per the details of the compensation released; In Choubise Rural Municipality 67 farmers who suffered complete and partial damage received a total amount of 4 lakh 40 thousand 2 hundred 66 rupees and 32 paisa. In Mahalakshmi Municipality 35 farmers who suffered complete damage to their crops received a total amount of 1 lakh 84 thousand 5 hundred 10 rupees and 66 paisa. According to Yuvraj Kattel, Chairman of the Disaster Management Committee and Chief District Officer, 2 farmers in Dhankuta Municipality, who had completely lost their crops received a total of 13 t thousand 42 rupees and 94 paisa, 1 farmer with partial loss received 4 thousand 9 hundred and 64 rupees and 54 paisa.
According to Morang representative Binod Subedi, Morang which had a total 83 thousand and 300 hectares of crop cultivation last year, suffered crop damage due to the untimely rain last year. The government of Province 1 had decided to compensate for the damage caused to the paddy by the unseasonal rains from the meeting of the Council of Ministers. However, the provincial government has not yet been able to provide compensation to the farmers. According to local officials of the district, the damage caused to the grain crops was collected through the local level agriculture branch and sent to the federal government to provide compensation or relief, but due to lack of funds, the farmers have not received any relief or compensation yet.
According to Udaypur representative Rakesh Nepali, the farmers who suffered damage to their crops due to unseasonal rains last year have not been able to get compensation yet. In the district last year, 14 thousand 365 hectares land of rice crops, and 191 hectares land of for vegetables, millet, and other crops were damaged due to wind and rain. According to the statistics of Krishi Gyan Kendra, 25 percent of the paddy crops grown on 13,380 hectares of land were damaged due to rain last year. Yogendra Prasad Yadav, Head of Agricultural Knowledge Center, Udaipur, said that as per the instructions of the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture, Biratnagar, the details of the farmers whose paddy crops were damaged were collected, but since no circular was received, relief could not be distributed to the farmers. According to Krishi Gyan Kendra, 7 thousand 973 metric tons of paddy were destroyed due to the storm and rain last year, causing a loss worth 29 Crore 52 lakh 74 thousand rupees. Due to damage to 62 metric tons of millet planted on 122 hectares, there was a loss of an amount equal to 77 lakh 99 thousand rupees. Vegetables planted in an area of 33 hectares and paddy crops planted in an area of two hectares were also damaged due to wind and rain. A total of 547 farmers of Katari municipality, 82 farmers of Udaipurgarhi, and 3690 farmers of Chaudandigarhi municipality have comparatively suffered more damage to their crops. According to the statistics of Krishi Gyan Kendra, farmers of Belka municipality have suffered the most damage. According to Yogendra Yadav, Head of the Office, The State Agriculture Directorate is willing to provide the details of the damages if requested, however, the office is not certain about the time frame for the distribution of compensation or relief.