´´Farmers will also enjoy 50 percent subsidy on electricity to be used in flower tissue culture -- a facility aimed at boosting their competitiveness,´´ Dr Hari Dahal, spokesperson of the MoAC, told myrepublica.com.
The policy, which was worked out at a time when Nepal was rapidly losing patent rights of its endemic plants, also aims to protect patent rights of the endemic plants though their proper documentation and registration.
The government is also planning to provide loans to the farmers at soft interest rates at par with the priority sector loan of the banks in order to encourage farmers toward this occupation.
“Farmers will get loans up to 80 percent of the total project,’’ stated Dahal. “Income tax will also be exempted for the first five years of operations of the project.”
The policy has also incorporated a provision of providing insurance coverage to the flower produces, market and floriculture farms to cushion the farmers from possible losses in the course of farming.
Presently, Nepali farmers are losing opportunity to export their products to lucrative markets, which have grown far and wide over the last few years, due to the lack of technical knowledge and business know-how.
The policy targets to double the production and create two-fold employment opportunities in the next five years.
Currently, some 3,000 farmers are engaged in the commercial floriculture in more than three dozen districts. Traders said more than Rs 60 million worth of flowers is being exported out of the country. The total domestic production volume stands at about Rs 500 million.
prabhakar@myrepublica.com
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