Latest price data shows that the price of coarse rice -- a staple food item -- has shot up by a whooping 17 percent over the year despite the production of paddy touching a new high. Paddy production rose this year by 5 percent to 4.52 million tons.
A senior official at the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives (MoAC) said the program is aimed at increasing food production in those districts through increased yields besides building necessary infrastructure at farm level.
The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have already pledged US$36 million and US$ 20 million respectively for the 30-month program.
A team from the European Commission (EC) has also made a commitment to provide between US$16 million to US$18 million for the program.
“They (donor agencies) have in principle agreed to provide grant assistance to Nepal for implementation of the program, which targets farmers in the 10 Eastern, Western and Far Western districts that have been hard hit by food insecurity over a few years,” Dr Hari Dahal, spokesperson at MoAC told myrepublica.com on Monday.
“We will launch the program within a month as the donor agencies including the EC are ready to initiate the program at the earliest,” Dahal added.
The program will encourage targeted farmers to produce vegetables and crop seeds, besides supporting irrigation projects and other infrastructure.
The program will be implemented with the assistance of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) under the Initiative on Soaring Food Price (ISFP) - a program which has been launched in 12 Asian countries including Nepal, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Cambodia and Fiji.
ISFP has been assisting with a relief program aimed at facilitating food, seed and fertilizer supplies to vulnerable populations in the five remote Far Western districts of Jumla, Baitadi, Bajura, Darchula and Achham, through a support of US$500,000 from the WB, ADB and EC.
Another program under ISFP has been launched recently with a support of US$ 900,000 from those agencies to improve the access of farmers to agricultural inputs like vegetable seed, wheat seed and fertilizers besides extending support services to 30,000 households in six districts—Arghakhachi, Gulmi, Kapilvastu, Nawalparasi, Parwat and Myagdi.
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