Panchthar, 8th December. To increase rice production, the Phalgunand Rural Municipality of Panchthar has introduced a program to reward farmers who grow more than 50 muri of rice. The rural municipality has introduced the ‘Best Farmers in Rice Production Award Program Implementation Procedure 2080’ to reward the farmers.

According to the procedure, farmers who produce rice from 50 muri to 100 muri will receive a reward of Rs. 30,000. Similarly, the chief administrative officer of the rural municipality, Nirmal Tumrok, informed that farmers who produce more than 100 muri of rice will receive a prize of Rs 50,000.

The rural municipality published a public notice on Thursday and called upon the farmers to apply for the award according to the criteria. Tumrok informed us that the farmers who are selected according to the criteria will be awarded within a week. According to him, in order to apply, the farmer should submit the application according to the format available at the ward office, a copy of the citizenship certificate, and the recommendation of the ward office.

Since the procedure has been implemented recently, the rural municipality is preparing to check the place where the rice of the farmers who have grown more than 50 muri of rice is kept. Chief administrative officer Tumrok said that a committee led by the ward head will work in the agricultural development branch of the municipality’s ward office for this purpose. “After receiving the claim for this year, if the rice is picked up and taken home, we have made arrangements to go to the house to measure it,” he said. “From next year, the rice will be measured in the bin.” He said that the rural municipality has arranged for farmers to grow rice regardless of their land.

“No matter who owns the land, it must be proven that it was cultivated by the same family,” said Tumrok. The rural municipality said that this program has been introduced especially for economically disadvantaged families. According to him, farmers who grow paddy in Adhiyan, Kut, etc. can get the reward even if they grow more than 50 muri of paddy that should be allocated for themselves and the land owner. “Regardless of research, even if it is done, if it is found that 50 muri have grown, the farmer who produces them will get a reward. Not by the  landowner, said Chief Administrative Officer Tumrok.

Most of the poor families are emphasizing the production of traditional food crops such as rice and corn. Paddy cultivation is done in all seven wards of Falgunand. The Nibu River here irrigates the coastal areas of all the wards. Bensi district of Nibu is the most rice-producing area. As the annual rice production started to decrease, Falgunanda came up with a plan to encourage the farmers and attract them to farming. Earlier, Panchthar’s Miklajung rural municipality also conducted a program to reward farmers who produce more than 50 muri of rice.