Nepali Economics

By Prajwal Shrestha Again, the sugarcane farmers have arrived in Kathmandu demanding clearance of the year-old dues by the sugar factories. The sugar factories are owned by different businessmen who are the major financial source of the political leaders, are found exploiting poor sugarcane farmers. The factory owners are not afraid of any punishment from the government as the leaders are their business partners. The sugarcane farmers, whose payment is long overdue in various sugar mills, have urged the government for its intervention to ensure their outstanding due payment within 21 August this year. A group of sugarcane farmers, organizing a press conference on Thursday last week, have asked the government to facilitate their payment which amounts to around 150 million rupees. Representatives from the Sugarcane Famers Struggle Committee, Sarlahi, Federation of Agricultural Workers of Nepal and sugarcane farmers rued that they were not paid as per the agreement inked among the sugar mill owners and them in the past. If businessmen, instead of following the business ethics, try to exploit raw materials producers; if political leaders, instead of maintaining good governance, takes side with the businessmen, the business management will be derailed. This year, due to the continuous exploitation of the sugar factory owners, farmers didn’t show interest in sugarcane farming. The factory owners will have to rely on the Indian sugarcane to run their factories. Due to the negligence performed by the political leaders who want to introduce themselves as communist leaders, farmers have been suffered. When we import sugarcane from India, it will surely affect our foreign trade. When we import raw materials from abroad, which we could be managed within the country, it is serious negligence of the government. If the country will pay attention to utilizing our agro-land properly, the nation will be able to substitute many of the agro-products imported from abroad. It is not a big thing if the government is committed to supporting the farmers.