February 27: The government has fixed the support price of wheat for the current fiscal year. The support price has been fixed at Rs 3,351 per quintal, which is Rs 186 more compared to last year. Upon suggestion from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, the cabinet approved the support price proposed by the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supplies.

The government had fixed the support price of wheat at Rs 3,150 per quintal for the first time in the fiscal year 2076/77. In the last four years, the government increased the price of wheat by Rs 337 per quintal.

Stakeholders say that the government has been miserly in setting the price of wheat, which is known as unprofitable crop because the production is not worth the cost and efforts incurred. Farmers and agricultural activists express doubt that the support price set so miserly will even be implemented.

Uddhav Adhikari, coordinator of the Food Campaign for Agriculture said that the government's attention should be focused on its implementation rather than setting the support price. According to him, the government sets the support price every year, but it is not implemented. Therefore, he said that the support price has caused more pain than relief to the farmers.

President of the National Farmers' Commission, Prem Dangal also said that the government's focus should be on the implementation of support prices. According to him, the practice of setting support prices and not implementing them should be brought to an end.

It has become customary for the government to set the support price of rice and wheat late every year, and the state-owned food supply and trading companies do not purchase the produce as per the target. In terms of production area, wheat is the third major food crop of Nepal. According to the data of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, more than 2.1 million metric tons of wheat is produced in Nepal annually. But recently, the area of wheat production is decreasing. In the last 7 years, the area under wheat cultivation in Nepal has decreased by 51,300 hectares.