Youth To Be Employed In Agriculture
May 16, 2020 | Investopaper
Presenting the policy and program of the government on Friday, President Vidyadevi Bhandari said that a policy would be taken to attract the youths returning from abroad to agriculture and emphasis would be laid on commercialization and modernization of agriculture.
Stating that agriculture will be developed as an income-generating and dignified profession and productive business, President Bhandari informed that women’s cooperatives and semi-unemployed and youths returning from foreign employment will be attracted to agribusiness.
She said that the policy of not wasting all the vacant land of Nepal and increasing the agricultural production through intensive farming system by reusing the cultivable land will be implemented. The government has taken a policy to expand the supply and distribution of chemical fertilizers and improved seeds and to expand the irrigation sector. President Bhandari stated that the food security situation has improved by increasing the production of agricultural products including paddy, wheat, vegetables, potatoes, maize and potatoes.
Emphasis will be laid on productivity and production with further modernization, commercialization and mechanization in the coming fiscal year. The government would launch a campaign to consume indigenous goods and encourage domestic production. Agriculture and agri-enterprises will be developed as the main sectors and the Prime Minister’s Agriculture Modernization Project will be restructured and expanded across Nepal as a major program in the agricultural sector.
Productivity will be increased on the basis of national need and national potential, and with greater results, agricultural production will be increased by cultivating the same crop in one place, which will increase the possibility of export and marketing. Other programs will be implemented without repeating this project. President Bhandari said that the government would initiate the process of listing every farmer at the local level to manage the facilities and technical services provided by the government in relation to agricultural production and sale. Stating that the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) would be made result-oriented by timely reforms, she stated that special attention would be given to the development of hybrid varieties of crops.
Stating that the government will take the policy of providing subsidy for production to the real farmers in a simple way, she said that the subsidized seeds, fertilizers and latest technology will be made available to the farmers in time and subsidy will be arranged for one sector from one sector. She informed the House that besides encouraging the farmers to produce high value agricultural commodities, the government has also taken a policy to end the uselessness of land. The program of planting fruits on government land would be conducted as a campaign and farmers would be encouraged to plant pulses, vegetables and other crops on barren land.
The organic agriculture will be promoted and organic products will be marketed nationally and internationally through authentic and brand management. She stated that regular soil testing of arable land would be done and soil testing and laboratory expansion and technical services would be provided to the farmers to cultivate the type, quality and climate of the soil and use appropriate amount of fertilizer seeds and pesticides.
The government will make arrangements for the marketing of agricultural produce so that the farmers can get a fair price for their produce on the basis of cost. It has taken a policy to fix the minimum support price of the crop before the farmers plant the crop and thus ensure the savings of the farmers. Stating that the country has become self-sufficient in chicken eggs and the marketing of the product has improved, she said that the milk processing capacity has been increased and the government has a policy to increase it as per the need.
Farmers will be encouraged for commercial breeding of improved breeds by conducting breed improvement programs. The emphasis would be laid on the production of cows, buffaloes, sheep and goats in the hills and terai and quarantine would be set up to control the disease.
The food storage will be arranged for food houses in all the states. A land bank would be set up to increase agricultural production, farmers would be encouraged to engage in contract and commercial farming and collective farming by encouraging land consolidation. She informed that the government will run a campaign to conserve the agricultural land by classifying the entire land for the protection of agricultural land.