Speaking at a program organized in the capital to mark the 31st World Food Day, Dipendra Bahadur Chhetri, vice-president of National Planning Commission and also the coordinator of the committee, said that the steering committee would address the issues that are coming in the way of enhanced productivity and effective food distribution in Nepal.
"The rate of malnutrition among Nepalis has increased by 35 percent and this has to do with improper distribution of food grains," said Chhetri.
If the trend of last 23 years is analysed, Nepal faced lack of consumable food grains for fourteen years and has had food sufficiency for 9 years. According to a report, 38 districts in the hilly region and 8 districts in Tarai are currently facing food deficit.
Uttam Bhattarai, joint secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, said there is an urgent need to implement Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) to enhance productivity and ensure proper distribution of food grains.
Lack of an integrated approach that uses tradition with modernity is hindering food productivity, resulting in food insecurity in Nepal, speakers at the program pointed out.
"It´s high time that Nepal adopted scientific farming in Nepal to improve food security situation," added agriculture expert Bholaman Singh Basnet.
Nepal faced a food deficit of 133,000 metric tons during the fiscal year 2009/10, 330,000 metric tons in the fiscal year 2010/11, and 110,000 metric tons of food surplus in the fiscal year 2011/12.
Globally, the price of food grains such as maize has lately increased by 74 percent and the price of rice by almost 166 percent. According to the report, Nepal needs 5.2 million metric tons of food grains annually.
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