I am Devaki Poudel (Salina), 34 years young, working with All Nepal Peasants’ Federation (Revolutionary Centre) as a member and in the implementation of different programs. For the last eight years, I have been operating my own farm in Nagarjun, Kathmandu. I am growing commercial vegetables including tomatoes, cauliflower, leafy greens, and mushrooms and I also have a poultry farm.
I am presenting the main problems currently faced by the agricultural sector with the hope that the Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development will address these issues.
• All over Nepal, especially in Kathmandu Valley, the cultivable land is being fragmented for plotting (town planning) resulting in a shortage of agricultural land. Thus, agricultural land should be classified and protected.
• There is a legal provision of insurance in the vegetable and livestock sector. However, the insurance companies are not ready to provide insurance for poultry and vegetables. This should be strictly implemented.
• Whether or not the government is aware of the quality of the micronutrients for vegetables and vaccines, medicines, feeds, and supplements for the livestock, these all are controlled by the middlemen and brokers. The Ministry should declare these agricultural products tariff-free and should assure the easy availability of quality products at reasonable prices.
• The vegetable seeds, livestock breeds, vitamins, nutritive supplements, feeds, and fertilizers available are of poor quality. The government needs to strictly monitor the market to ensure the quality of these items.
• The Grant and Loan Facilities provided by the government are not easily accessible to real farmers due to long, complicated, and time-consuming procedures. An easy and simplified process should be employed so that real farmers can access these facilities with ease.
• Most farmers need technical know-how in agriculture. The state should provide technical assistance to each farmer when they need it. Farmers should also be trained to make them ideologically aware.
• Most Nepali farmers cannot decide the price of their agricultural produce so the traders and mediators determine the price. Hence, either the state should create a favorable environment for the farmers to determine the price of their products or it should be decided by the state. This has been a serious issue and many commercial farmers are left disappointed and alienated from the agriculture sector that they end up quitting agriculture. If the government could determine the price of the agricultural produce and stop the importation from the neighboring countries, there is great potential in the agriculture sector of Nepal. Otherwise, young farmers like us will have no option but to migrate abroad to pay back our loans.
These are the difficulties in farming based on my decade-long experience. I most humbly request you, honorable Minister, with the hope that you could make a favorable environment in the agriculture sector by addressing these problems as soon as possible so that many young farmers like myself are encouraged to work in the agricultural sector.
Devaki Poudel (Salina)
Nepal
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