July 28: The National Farmers Network (NFN) has demanded the announcement of the pandemic of lumpy skin disease in the country.    
It has also called for controlling the disease at the earliest, and providing compensation to the affected farmers. Or else a protest programme would be launched, the NFN warned at a press conference organised on Thursday.    
Various nine organisations working for the welfare of farmers are associated with the Network. On the occasion, the network’s coordinator Ganesh Chandra Timilsina, who is also the president of the Nepal Farmers Association, a wing of the Nepali Congress, said the lumpy skin disease has affected many farmers across the country.    
Similarly, chairperson of the All Nepal Peasants Federation, a wing of the CPN (UML), Dr Prem Dangal said over 50,000 domestic animals have died from the disease, resulting in the loss of around Rs 40 billion. Additional Rs 1 billion would be lost if the disease is not contained, he warned.    

The network has also demanded that the stalls at the Kalimati fruit and vegetable market be rented out through competitive bidding process. As part of its protest, NFN has launched a sit-in before the office of the Kalimati Fruits and Vegetable Market Development Committee. Likewise, the network demanded smooth supply of fertilisers and investigations into the delay in releasing the money under agriculture insurance. -- RSS