KATHMANDU, April 8: The government has failed to fulfill its commitment to pay the dairy farmers within the agreed period.

According to the agreement reached between the then Agriculture and Livestock Development Minister Beduram Bhusal on March 2, there was a written agreement to provide full payment for the milk produced and sold by the dairy farmers by April 3.

The dairy farmers are yet to receive payment for their milk sales. At that time, a five-point agreement was reached including the timely payment to dairy farmers, but the farmers have complained that the government has failed to implement the agreement.

During the agreement, Dr Rewati Raman Poudel, secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Dr Surya Prasad Poudel, Under Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Balak Chaudhary, Executive Director of the National Dairy Development Board, Dr Umesh Dahal, Director General of the Department of Livestock Services, and Rajendra Prasad Adhikari, Deputy Director of the Dairy Development Corporation (DDC), signed the Memorandum of Understanding.

Furthermore, Central Dairy Cooperative Association President Amar Bahadur Kunwar, Nepal Dairy Association President Prahlad Dahal, former President Sumit Kedia, Nepal Dairy Industries Association President Rajkumar Dahal and former President Arniko Rajbhandari signed the agreement.

It was agreed to settle the outstanding payments for milk sales up to mid-January by April 3. In response to non-payments, associations and organizations associated with farmers had announced street protests.

Despite an overnight agreement reached by the then Agriculture Minister Bhusal with the farmers, the payments are still pending. Nearly Rs 6 billion remains unpaid by both the Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) and private sector dairy industries for milk sales.

 
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