BOOSTING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY IN NEPAL

Agricultural productivity has been declining in Nepal for several years. Forty three out of 75 districts suffer from food deficits due to decreasing food production. The country which used to be a food surplus has now become a net food importer, according to Dr. Bishnu Dev Pant, the Executive Director of Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS).

At a recent consultation workshop on agriculture inputs and policy, jointly organized by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), IIDS and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on June 9 in Kathmandu, researchers, policymakers and experts came together to address the challenges that Nepal’s agricultural sector is facing.

Dr. Pramod Joshi, the Director of the IFPRI South Asia Regional Office, pointed out that more than 90 percent of Nepal’s population depends on agriculture for a living in rural areas and that poverty is high in mountainous area and in the mid-western and far-western region due to low crop yields.

It is recommended to significantly increase investment in irrigation, technology and rural infrastructure, motivate the private sector, and improve farmers’ access to agricultural inputs to boost agriculture production.

In addition, Nepalese farmers have been forced to deal with illegal traders because they are unable to get enough agricultural inputs from official channels.  However, through these channels, they end up getting substandard chemical fertilizers and low quality seeds  at high prices, which hinders the increase of agricultural productivity. The cross-border trade of agricultural inputs should be regulated.

Establishment and operation of database and monitoring system of fertilizer usage and distribution is also recommended.

Get more information from the media coverage of the workshop:

• Xinhua News: Regional policy on fertilizer, seed required in South Asia: Experts
• Himalayan Times: Technology‚ input on time‚ market key to boost agriculture output
• The National Economic Daily KAROBAR: Agriculture Sector Policy Weak (in Nepali)