June 4: Farmers of Banke and Bardiya district are worried after the government decided to scrap Khajura-based Cotton Development Committee in Banke district.   

Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat had announced to scrap the committee while unveiling the budget for the upcoming fiscal year (FY 2023/24) in a joint session of parliament on May 29.  
The farmers, who have been involved in cotton farming for many years and are planning to continue this profession, are now reluctant to spend their time and energy due to the uncertainty over the outcome following the government’s decision to do away with the committee.

Shatish Niraula, a businessman from Banke says, it is unfortunate that the government decided to scrap the Cotton Development Committee through the budget announcement.

He suggested that utilizing cotton produced in the country could create employment in the yarn industry.

Hariram Tharu of Rapti Sonari Rural Municipality, who is involved in cotton farming for the past few years, said he has been making a good income from cotton farming. Now, he is not certain if he can make good income without the support of the committee.

The Cotton Development Committee is closely involved with the farmers and helps them with seeds, pesticides and also to link the farmers with the market. The committee has sold cotton worth Rs 30 million in the current fiscal year, reported the state-owned RSS.    
Chairperson of the committee Hemant Raj Kafle told RSS that necessary seeds and pesticide had already been purchased after selecting 300 farmers for cotton farming for this season “because it is right time for cotton farming”.    
Kafle further said, "There is no stock of cotton in store but the demand is good. Farmers of Banke and Bardiya have been making good income from cotton farming. It is really sad that the government decided to scrap the committee.”

He shared that capital of the committee is worth Rs 100 million and it has been making good income in recent years.   
According to Kafle, the committee has not been able to supply cotton as per the demand which is quite high in the market. He said that the committee purchased 100 tonnes of cotton from the farmers in the current fiscal year.    
Biratnagar-based Yarn Industry purchases 15 metric tonnes of cotton every month from the committee. All the cotton stored at the committee's depot since 2072 BS was sold last year, the committee’s officials told RSS.