Why the ‘One Municipality, One Cold Storage Center’ Initiative Remains Ineffective in Idle Farmlands
Summary: Despite investing billions in constructing cold storage facilities to reduce agricultural production losses and ensure fair prices for farmers, many centers remain unused. Of the ten cold storage units in Bagmati Province, only two are operational, while the rest are stalled due to partner agencies failing to release funds despite the infrastructure being completed. The Agriculture Department is preparing to compile an integrated database by collecting details of small and large cold stores across all local levels. Kathmandu, 20 Chaitra.
The cold storage centers, established to minimize production losses in agriculture and provide fair prices to farmers, have for years only been a drain on government payrolls. Although the government allocated billions in grants over the last decade to construct these facilities, much of the funding remains underutilized. The joint federal, provincial, and local government funding model, where partner bodies receive grants based on fixed proportions, has led to favored agencies acquiring projects but abandoning work and misusing funds, resulting in significant setbacks in agricultural infrastructure.
In some instances, buildings have been completed but remain non-functional, whereas in others, grant-received foundations have deteriorated into overgrown plots. For example, the 500-ton capacity cold storage center built under joint investment by Manthali Municipality and the provincial government has remained unused for three years. Although the main structure was finished by Shrawan 2080, it has not been operationalized to avoid becoming unnecessary infrastructure. Out of the ten cold storage centers initiated by Bagmati Province with an investment of nearly 800 million NPR, only two are currently fully operational.
This issue is not confined to Bagmati Province; all seven provinces face similar challenges. Some centers are completed but unused, while others are left incomplete and stalled. The resurgence of discussions around cold storage centers is due to the government’s decision to initiate the ‘One Municipality, One Cold Storage Center’ program aimed at improving agricultural production storage and market systems. Senior leader Balendra Sah of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (Raswapa) has publicly announced 100 governance reforms, including plans to conduct feasibility studies within 10 days for establishing cold storage centers in every district under public-private partnerships.
