The government announced the subsidy in fiscal year 2008/09. It has been allocating budget for the purpose ever since. But less than 50 percent of the amount was utilized for the purpose over the past three fiscal years. [break]
According to officials, some export companies and few farmers´ cooperatives have received subsidy to get organic certification for coffee, tea and herbal products from national or international certifying agencies.
Certifying agencies monitor production, marketing and supply processes before giving ´organic´ tag to the product they monitor. The certification cost is very expensive.
Tek Prasad Luitel, co-spokesperson for the Ministry of Agricultural Development, said the subsidy was announced to support farmers and exporters so that Nepali organic products find their way to international market.
The Department of Agriculture (DoA) subsidizes up to 30 percent of the certification costs by analyzing export details, payments received from the export and the cost of certification.
Gobinda Sharma, managing director of, Organic Certification Nepal (OCN), said they charge between Rs 100,000 and Rs 250,000 for one-time certification of the products depending upon the volume and the place they have to monitor.
OCN is one of the certifying agencies based in Nepal.
Farmers of organic products said they have not approached the government for subsidy as their products are finding markets in Nepal itself. Umesh Lama, chairman of Organic World and Fair Future -- a consortium of trading organizations dealing on organic farm products, said the government should provide subsidy for organic products for domestic consumption as well.
Lama said his organization exports coffee, tea and buckwheat as well as apples from Jumla after receiving certification from OCN and National Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Australia (NASAA).
Sharma said there is a need to bridge gap between DoA and farmers as well as exporters. “Large exporters do not show interest to small amount of money,” he said, adding, “Small farmers do not know they can get good price for their farm products by receiving organic certification.”
Luitel said export of organic products is still at its infancy. “The domestic market is focused more on quantity, rather than quality,” he added.
The budget for fiscal year 2013/14, which the government unveiled on Sunday, has introduced incentives for export-based industries.
Related story
Desperate search for missing girls as nearly 80 dead in Texas f...
