Farmers here have lost much of their potato and tomato harvests due to the outbreak of a disease known as Daduwa as a result of the cold. According to the District Agriculture Development Office (DADO), the disease has affected potato crops on 280 hectares and about 5 percent of the tomato production in the district. Farmers have planted potato and tomato on 5,000 hectares each.

Last year, the government ordered insurance companies to provide compensation amounting up to Rs 90,000 to farmers who have insured their crops for Rs 100,000. Due to the 75 percent subsidy on the insurance premium, farmers pay Rs 1,250 while the remaining Rs 3,750 is paid by the government. However, most of the farmers here have not insured their agricultural products.

DAO Chief Rajendra Pradhan said that farmers who have not insured their crops would not get compensation. “Despite the government’s support, none of the farmers has insured their products,” he said.

Meanwhile, the production of tomato and potato is expected to drop this year due to the disease. An expected 15 tonnes of potatoes can be produced on a hectare of land. As per the DAO, output could go down to 8 tonnes per hectare.

The outbreak of the disease has been blamed on the use of potato seeds not recommended by the government.

As per the DAO, it has urged farmers to use the TPS variety of seeds which are said to be resistant to fungi. But the farmers had been using substandard seeds imported from India as they are cheaper compared to the local seeds.

Mostly farms in Hirminiya, Kamdi, Udharapur, Paraspur, Udayapur, Nauwasta and Bageshwori are reported to have been affected by the disease. These places are known for commercial farming.

DAO officials said that farmers could minimize the risk of the disease by using appropriate chemicals, doing proper weeding or supplying adequate amounts of water. According to them, farmers who use affected seeds for a long time are likely to suffer losses due to outbreaks of Daduwa disease.