Farmers’ Protest in Kathmandu Amid Failure to End Intermediaries: Tomatoes Dumped on Streets Over Low Prices

Farmers in Kathmandu have protested by dumping tomatoes on the road in Maiti Ghar, expressing their frustration over not receiving fair prices for their production costs. They have demanded agricultural insurance, guaranteed minimum support prices, and an end to intermediaries in the market. Local tomatoes at Kalimati market are being sold for less than NPR 10 per kilogram, which farmers say does not cover their costs. Kathmandu, 31 June – Around noon on Wednesday, Maiti Ghar in the federal capital of Kathmandu was flooded with tomatoes dumped by farmers protesting the lack of fair prices for their produce. Despite rising production costs, tomatoes remain unsold even at NPR 10 per kilogram, prompting farmers to express their anger and despair by discarding their produce in the streets. Growing crops is hard work, but it is even more painful for farmers when they cannot get a reasonable price for their labor. By throwing tomatoes on the road, the farmers are demonstrating their deep dissatisfaction with the government’s failure to provide fair prices. Local farmers across the Kathmandu Valley rent land to grow tunnel-grown vegetables and have taken to the streets in protest. “We have no unions, no leaders; we are all farmers sweating in our own fields. We are in pain today and have brought that fire to the streets,” said participants of the protest. Farmers chanting slogans while standing on piles of tomatoes in Maiti Ghar bore expressions of frustration and anger. Over a hundred farmers, including Bom Lama Tamang, carried banners reading “Green Revolution” and shouted slogans such as “Let farmers earn a living, regulate prices, remove intermediaries from the market, provide subsidy loans, implement agricultural insurance, ensure fair value for farmers’ efforts, and provide timely fertilizer, seeds, and rights.” The farmers also expressed anger toward Agriculture, Forestry and Environment Minister Gita Chaudhary. According to Tamang, producing one kilogram of tomatoes costs at least NPR 25, but currently, tomatoes cannot be sold even at NPR 10 per kilogram, forcing them to demonstrate on the streets. “Selling at NPR 10 leads to losses; this is not a new problem. We have been suffering these losses for almost a month,” he said. “Our local tomatoes are grown in tunnels reinforced with tarpaulins and bamboo poles; the investment is huge – how can this be sustainable?” Farmers complain that without proper market regulation and inability to eliminate intermediaries, imported Indian tomatoes easily enter the market, squeezing out local production. The Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market Development Committee has not monitored or controlled Indian vegetable imports, farmers say. “What we want is for Kalimati to stop daily price fluctuations,” Tamang added. “Whether tomatoes or other vegetables, fixing prices would greatly relieve farmers.” The farmers protesting in Maiti Ghar are not merely subsistence farmers; many run business-scale operations with 80 to 100 tunnels. “Each tunnel employs 5 to 10 workers,” Tamang said. “Renting land, paying labor, buying fertilizer and seeds – how can we cover expenses selling tomatoes at NPR 10?” Although protesting by blocking vegetable-carrying vehicles earlier had little effect, the farmers gathered in Maiti Ghar Mandala for a more visible demonstration. All participating farmers say, “We sweat in the fields to produce, but pricing is controlled by intermediaries. It’s better to dump tomatoes on the road than sell them at worthless prices.” This kind of protest – dumping produce on roads – is not new. Recently, farmers in Gyalchok, Gorkha dumped beans and yardlong beans on roads after intermediaries offered only NPR 5 to 12, insufficient to cover costs. Despite transport costs of NPR 600–700 to markets, farmers have been forced to discard produce due to poor returns. Farmers across different regions of the country have been dumping tomatoes, cauliflower, beans, and milk on roads in protest. This reflects systemic failures of the state apparatus, unaddressed by any government. On 25 June, Agriculture Minister Chaudhary, marking 100 days since assuming office, claimed at a press conference that intermediaries would be eliminated and farmers ensured fair prices. Minister Chaudhary expressed commitment to making agriculture the mainstay of the economy and announced steps to reform policies to end intermediaries. She assured government commitment to fix minimum support prices and establish farmer-friendly market management. The minister added that to address farmers’ problems, the ministry works late at night and runs crackdowns against black marketeering. The government led by Prime Minister Balendra Shah promised in its 100-day agenda to enforce mandatory payment to farmers within 25 days of purchase and impose interest penalties on buyers if payments are delayed. However, farmers complain the government’s decisions have not been implemented, compelling them to protest. Farmers say all such promises remain merely rhetoric. Even with policy reforms on paper, the influence of intermediaries remains strong in reality. Both farmers and consumers continue to suffer from this enduring problem. This failure to ensure fair prices for farmers is evident in the wholesale prices published by the Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market Development Committee. Official data shows the minimum wholesale price for small local tomatoes is NPR 8 per kilogram and the maximum NPR 12, averaging about NPR 9.50, which goes to farmers. Tunnel-grown small tomatoes average NPR 14.60 per kilogram, while large Nepali tomatoes average NPR 38.75. However, consumers pay between NPR 50 and NPR 70 at retail. Traders claim farmers get good prices through higher consumer costs, but vegetable businessmen dispute accusations of price fixing. Bharat Prasad Khatiwada, president of the Nepal Fruit and Vegetable Traders’ Federation, stated that prices drop due to oversupply rather than trader malpractices. “Tomato prices have not fallen because of imports but due to high domestic production in multiple regions,” he said, dismissing concerns of cartel formation. While large tomatoes for salads are pricey, sufficient production of tunnel and local small tomatoes for cooking and pickling has suppressed prices. Khatiwada explained consumers pay more because of the gap between wholesale and retail markets. “Ordinary people have limited access to wholesale markets, and outer markets like Suryabinayak, Jorpati, Baneshwor, and Lagankhel operate differently,” he said. “Wholesale prices are about NPR 30–35, but retail prices are not controlled.” He noted the wholesale price paradoxically ranges from NPR 300 to 400 for tomatoes, and while farmers blame Indian tomatoes for price drops, Khatiwada believes Nepal’s production is currently being discarded, and Indian tomatoes have not flooded the market. Indian tomatoes are not listed in Kalimati’s vegetable market data. How long will farmers continue dumping produce? Farmers’ demands are simple: agricultural insurance, minimum support prices, easy market access, and control over intermediaries. The inability of the state to manage markets timely has forced farmers repeatedly to resort to dumping produce on roads, marking a harsh indictment of government agricultural policy. Stakeholders emphasize that the government must urgently intervene in market structures to genuinely end intermediaries and prevent farmers from having to discard their crops in protest, as Minister Chaudhary pledged.
Photo: Aryan Dhimal