A few days ago, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Ramnath Adhikari, claimed in a meeting with journalists that dairy farmers would receive their dues before Dashain. However, with just 10 days left until Ghatasthapana, it is unlikely that the government will provide the payments to the milk producers.
A cabinet meeting held on September 5 decided to grant a loan of Rs 600 million to the Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) on condition that this amount be used to pay the farmers' dues. The Ministry of Finance mandated that the DDC should immediately utilize the loan to settle its outstanding payments to farmers, whom it owes a total of Rs 1.66 billion for milk purchases made on credit.
Although the decision to grant the loan was made on September 5, the government is yet to transfer the funds to the DDC's account. DDC officials stated that they plan to pay Rs 800 million to farmers once they receive the loan.
According to Rajendra Prasad Mishra, secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, while the loan has been approved, it has not yet been transferred to the DDC.
"Everything is not in the hands of the ministry alone. We have taken the initiative, but it will take some time to complete the process,” he said, adding that although farmers should receive their payments before Dashain, it cannot be guaranteed given the current situation.
Farmers have protested multiple times due to the delay in payment from both the government-owned DDC and some private dairy companies. The DDC reported has a stock of 750 metric tons of butter and 850 metric tons of milk powder, valued at approximately Rs 1.34 billion.
There are concerns regarding the validity of the Agriculture Minister's claim that farmers will be paid before Dashain, especially since the Ministry of Finance is yet to release the funds. Agriculture Ministry’s spokesman Dr. Hari Bahadur KC previously stated that the amount would be deposited into the DDC's account within one week of approval by the Cabinet, but two weeks have passed without any transfer.
DDC General Manager Surya Prasad Paudel maintains that farmers' arrears will be paid before Dashain. However, when questioned about the status of the fund transfer, he suggested that delays were caused by some employees being on leave. The DDC is prepared to send Rs 800 million for payments before Dashain, provided that the government makes the loan available. Of this amount, Rs 600 million would come from the government loan, while the remaining Rs 200 million would be generated from daily sales of milk products.
The DDC previously took loans of Rs 650 million three times from the government, and this latest loan of Rs 600 million adds to that total. Secretary Mishra also mentioned that, given the DDC's weak financial state, there should be consideration of ways to improve its financial situation.
