Farmers in Kavrepalanchok Await Milk Payments for Five Months

March 20, Kavrepalanchok — Dairy farmers in Kavrepalanchok have not received payments for their milk from the government-run Dairy Development Corporation for the past five months. Despite multiple agreements, the corporation has failed to pay the farmers for the milk they sold.

Although the corporation has continued to sell milk in cash markets including Kathmandu, failure to collect payments for five months has caused severe financial hardship for the farmers.

Approximately one crore rupees remain unpaid for milk collected at Jogitar chilling center from cooperatives such as Aapghari Dairy Producer Cooperative, Saraswati Dairy Producer Cooperative, and Indrawati Multipurpose Dairy Cooperative in Mandandeupur Municipality.

According to Surendra Nepal, president of the Aapghari Dairy Producer Cooperative, over 4.8 million rupees remain outstanding from the corporation.

“Even though the corporation is not paying us, we have to pay the farmers every 15 days for their milk. We are managing payments ourselves, but limited resources are making regular payments difficult,” he stated.

Farmers have approached the Agriculture Minister and various political leaders multiple times demanding payment.

Local farmer Sundar Nepal reported that these leaders often give promising assurances but fail to follow through.

“Without consistent payments, farmers are in serious trouble. Many rely solely on income from selling milk from one cow and buffalo. Not having received payments for five months means they cannot support their families or buy feed for their livestock,” Sundar expressed his concerns.

Local farmers are frustrated, blaming the Dairy Development Corporation for holding up payments by repeatedly citing the costs of unnecessary staff and financial losses. Due to delayed payments, some farmers and cooperatives have begun selling milk to private dairies.

Farmers took their concerns to the Dairy Development Corporation office in Lainchaur, but the corporation cited the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn as reasons for the delay.

Surendra Nepal said the corporation has assured efforts will be made to pay farmers on time in the future and prevent such issues from recurring.

However, farmers have warned that if regular payments do not resume, they will collectively march to the corporation’s central office to demand their dues.

An agreement was reached between the government, protesting dairy farmers, and dairy industry representatives to clear outstanding payments before the Dashain festival. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development’s Joint Secretary Pashupati Dhungana, along with officials from the Central Dairy Cooperative Union, Dairy Industry Association, and Nepal Dairy Association, brokered the deal, prompting farmers to suspend protests temporarily.

The agreement stipulated payments for dues up to the end of Ashad 2082 (mid-July 2025) by October 21, payment for outstanding amounts through the end of Shrawan (mid-August 2025) by October 16, and payments through Bhadra end (mid-September 2025) by mid-November. However, these deadlines have not been met, resulting in renewed calls for protest.

More than 10,000 dairy farmers produce milk in Mandandeupur, sending approximately 25,000 liters of milk daily to markets in the Kathmandu Valley. Dr. Brajkishor Thakur, Senior Veterinary Officer at the Kavrepalanchok Animal Service Office, stated that Kavrepalanchok alone contributes over 300,000 liters of milk daily to the valley markets.