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| Kathmandu, Monday December 30, 2002 Paush 15, 2059. |
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‘Establish quarantine
check post immediately’
Post Report
PALPA, Dec 29:Farmers of the district speaking
at a programme today urged the government to take initiatives for the immediate
establishment of quarantine check post in Sunauli, the western customs of the country.
"If the government paid no heed to our
request for the establishment of quarantine check post in Sunauli at the earliest, we will
launch protest programmes," said Jhapendra Bahadur GC, former Chairman of Palpa
District Development Committee (DDC).
GC was speaking at a workshop on "Review of
Annual Programmes and Planning" organised by Rural Economic Development Association
(REDA) in Palpa today. The workshop, which was co-hosted by 37 Village Development
Committees (VDCs) and a municipality of the district, was participated mainly by the
ginger farmers of the district.
The lack of quarantine check post at the western
customs has badly hit the agricultural export from the region, he further said. Although
the Indian government has already pledged establishing quarantine check post in the
largest customs in western Nepal, nothing concrete in this direction has been achieved so
far.
In the absence of the quarantine check post, the
farmers and agricultural exporters are currently forced to supply their produce either
through Nepalgunj, the far-western customs, or through Kakarbhitta, the eastern customs.
Even the sole quarantine check post located in Panitanki, the adjoining Indian customs to
Kakarbhitta is not free of lengthy procedures and harrassments, according to the speakers.
"As a result, the farmers have been
struggling with the export of cash and other crops," said GC. The Indian government
has pledged establishment of quarantine check posts in major customs of the country
including Jogbani, Raxaul, Sunauli and Rupedia, among others. However, citing budget
constraints, the Indian government has been delaying the implementation of its
announcement.
The district is known for ginger exports and the
REDA has involved 3148 farmers in ginger farming, by forming about 122 groups. "The
ginger producers have been forced to export their produce through Nepalgunj, which is
adding to the cost of supply," said ginger farmers speaking at the programme.
They further said that in the absence of such
check posts, together with the declining price of the produce in the market, the local
farmers are discouraged and are compelled to look for alternative professions. "To
prevent people from leaving the farming profession, the government should also put in
effort to expand the market of potential exportable agricultural products like ginger in
other countries," they stated.
According to statistics presented at the
workshop, 1600 tons of ginger was produced in the country during the last season. Although
most of the produce used to be exported abroad in previous years, this year only 720 tons
of the total produce was exported due to quarantine and other problems.
The district supplied ginger worth Rs 56.01
million during the season. "However, the decline in price has affected the
producers," said the farmers, adding that the price of the ginger declined to Rs 8 to
10 per kg, from Rs 16 to 20 in the previous year.
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