Local Cold Storage Eliminates Need for Long-Distance Transportation, Boosting Farmer Confidence and Production
Rampur (Palpa), April 1 — Until recently, Khemraj Rana had to transport his potato harvest all the way to Bhairahawa for proper storage. The journey from Rampur was neither convenient nor cost-effective, but it was necessary to prevent his crop from spoiling.
“We used to pay transportation costs to safely store our potatoes in cold storage facilities in Bhairahawa,” Rana explained. “But now, I no longer have to make that trip.”
As a resident of Bhalayatar in Rampur Municipality-2, Rana has found relief through a local cold storage center that has recently become operational. He has already stored 50 sacks of potatoes from the Upper Farmer Vegetable Group in the Rampur Cold Storage facility. The municipality began accepting potatoes for storage on Monday after issuing a public notice inviting farmers to utilize the facility. Last year, Rana stored the same amount through his farmers’ group.
“After seeing how well the potatoes stored in Rampur Cold Storage kept last year, we’ve brought them again this year,” Rana said. “Having a cooling center right in our village has made things much easier. Before this cold storage was built, we were taking our potatoes to Bhairahawa. Now we don’t have to go through that hassle.”
Rana believes that by storing potatoes now and selling them during the off-season, farmers will receive better prices for their produce.
Elderly Farmers Benefit
Lekhnath Pokharel, a 74-year-old farmer from Rampur-6, shares that having a cold storage facility in his own area gives him peace of mind about safely storing his potatoes. The storage facility has encouraged him to increase production in recent years. This year, he is preparing to store 15 sacks of both seed and consumption potatoes.
“The cold storage has made things much easier for farmers,” Pokharel said. “For small-scale farmers or those who produce only for household use, it’s problematic to transport just 10-15 sacks of potatoes to cold storage facilities in Bhairahawa or Pokhara. With the facility in Rampur, it’s easy to store and retrieve potatoes whenever needed.”
Acting Mayor of Rampur Municipality, Dobraj Tiwari, revealed that preparations are underway to store 1,500 sacks of potatoes from Chapakot Municipality in Syangja as well. He stated that the municipality will assign a daily caretaker for oversight of the potatoes. Currently, agricultural department staff are being deployed to manage the storage process.
“This time, we estimate storing between 3,500 and 4,000 sacks. We’re receiving storage requests from many places, but we’re giving priority to locals first,” Tiwari said. “The municipality will ensure the potatoes are safely managed, and farmers are excited about having secure storage.”
The municipality is handling both the storage and retrieval processes. According to Yuvaraj Nepali, an employee of the Rampur Municipality Agriculture Department, farmers are charged a storage fee of Rs. 6 per kilogram. Last year, 3,370 sacks of seed and consumption potatoes were stored at the facility.
Since the cold storage facility was built, farmers have utilized its services three times. The first year, some stored potatoes sprouted prematurely, prompting repairs and improvements before reopening. After successful storage in the second and third years, farmers have stopped taking their potatoes to outside cold storage facilities.
The consumption potatoes currently being stored will be released in August-September, while seed potatoes will be available in October following a public notice.
Mayor Ramanbahadur Thapa explained that the cold storage facility, with a capacity of 300 metric tons, was built to safely store agricultural produce. He noted that the facility has been particularly beneficial for potato farmers in the Rampur area, where potato production is substantial.
In its first year, the municipality contracted the facility’s operation to Bhagwati Adhikari Nyaupane from Hungee in Rambha Village Municipality-1 through a tender process. For the second and third years, agreements were made with Suryodaya Agricultural Cooperative. This year, the municipality is managing the facility directly.
The cold storage facility, completed in April 2021, is the largest capacity cold storage in Palpa. It was constructed by Rabina and Abhisa JV Construction Pvt. Ltd. under a conditional grant from the Lumbini Provincial Government at a contract cost of Rs. 32.68 million. The facility features five rooms of varying capacities for different storage needs.