Nepal has suitable climate and land for agriculture. We could significantly reduce food insecurity if our agricultural sector is revamped and investment increased on irrigation, and nutrients plant management. But investment is low, leading to a drop in production, while the national population is on the rise. At the same time, cropland holding is diminishing while 80 percent of country's rural population is still heavily depended on agriculture.The poor state of agriculture is largely due to inefficient organization, poor irrigation, lack of modern farming equipment in rural areas, and youth outmigration. Our average rice, wheat and maize yields are much lower compared to other South Asian countries. Nepal used to be self-sufficient in food-grains until the 1980s. It now imports food worth Rs. 100 billion annually.
In order to improve our food production, the government should seriously implement Agriculture Development Strategies (ADS), for which both structural reforms and greater investments are required. The government should begin by implementing existing policies and making agriculture priority development agenda.
In this context, the Ministry of Agriculture Development has introduced a 27-Point Program. It has innovative programs to attract youth in farming. Initiatives for a separate National Farmers' Commission, deputing officer level manpower at service centers, establishing community managed service center, arranging for at least one year of farming for youths who have received specialized training, insurance for farmers and farmers' pension are noteworthy parts of this new program.
Other programs are continuation from previous years. Current share of grants and subsidy budget in total agricultural budget is over 60 percent. Can such heavily subsidized programs be sustainable? Furthermore, the program aims to achieve self-reliance in food in two years. Without increasing irrigated areas and improving supply of production inputs sustainably, it will be hard to achieve.
Lack of irrigation facility is the root cause of low productivity. But new program is silent on this. It is not clear how the government is going to increase irrigated areas within two years. Existing mechanisms of coordination are weak.
We need to implement integrated programs to boost production in pocket areas. Irrigation, improved technology, reliable supply of production inputs and access to markets are vital. Many stakeholders need to come together to make it successful. But the proposed 27-Point Program is silent on how these stakeholders can be brought together. Most of all, there is no memorandum of understanding with stakeholders to realize the goal of developing 1,000 to 1,500 specific production pockets.
Ministry of Agriculture Development has been implementing pocket-package programs for last 20 years. There are more than 2,000 production pockets scattered across the country. But there is no difference between pocket areas and non-pocket areas in terms of production.
Various bodies within the Ministry are at loggerheads over who owns reform programs. The Department of Irrigation does not recognize agriculture pockets developed by Department of Agriculture. Similarly, financial institutions are reluctant to offer credit programs for pocket areas. Developing pockets alone won't increase production. We need to develop common pockets for all key stakeholders.
There are not enough technicians to help farmers boost production. There is one agriculture assistant for crop and livestock in two VDCs, which won't help because available agriculture assistants are either trained in crop or livestock. We hardly find technicians trained in both. We need at least two agriculture assistants at each service center—one for crop and other for livestock.
The government plans to categorize farmers into four groups and distribute them Kisan card (farmer's identity card). The purpose is to distribute grants and subsidies to needy farmers. Categorizing farmers under commercial, subsistence, marginalized and agriculture worker groups is challenging. Politically neutral teams need to be deputed to carry this out. The Ministry lacks such teams. Besides, it is not easy to ensure access of production inputs including credit to all farmers of remote areas.
Minimum Support Price (MSP) has been proposed for paddy, maize, wheat and sugarcane to protect farmers from sharp price dip of those products during bumper years. If well executed, it can guarantee stable price to farmers. In case the market price falls below MSP, due to excess production or glut in the market, government agencies have to purchase quantities offered by the farmers at MSP. Given lack of human resources, budget crunch and inadequate storage facilities, this will be challenging.
Our land use policy should be effectively implemented to minimize use of agricultural land for other purposes. Coordination among ministry of agriculture, land reform and forestry is essential for this. Agriculture Perspective Plan (APP) offers a vision for this but it could not be implemented for several reasons.
People are encroaching on public and state lands. Soil fertility is degrading. Ecosystems are deteriorating and agriculture lands are being used for non-agriculture purposes. Can these issues be addressed by 27-Point Program within two years? I doubt.
bhairabr@gmail.com
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