Nature reflects our nature
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looming around threatening our food production and security , we look forward to an exciting budget that ensures subsidy , improved seeds and improved transportation facility . Students in agriculture college will be provided internship and job opportunities could see a rise in agricultural knowledge in youths . One massive improvement for the farmers is that they can now pay crop instrument after the production and now will be facilitated with credit cards as well . Government will have to pay special attention to protection of the people involved in the production , transport , warehouses and retailing of agricultural input and services . Along with migrant worker returnee , extravagant budget and plans on agriculture , the locust attacks could be viewed as an opportunity for the government to make Nepal a self-sufficient nation in near future .
However , the government also faces challenges on implementing its plans for a sustainable agriculture future . We have seen until now that despite government ’ s limited investment in the agricultural sector , most of the funds are spent on administration expenses and staff salaries ( Around 62 % in FY 2076 / 2077 , Source : Budget Speech 2076 ); only lesser amounts are being spent to support extension and productivity enhancements . Through scrutinizing the budget plans and policies , the government always has neglected to resolve the two most critical issues in an efficient way – sufficient supply and promotion of proper transportation of agricultural products . This is seriously going to hobble the agricultural sector ‘ s production in the midst and beyond the raging pandemic . Focus only on irrigation of national pride seems to be little discouraging as well . Even though government also sees encouraging migrant returnee to be the major step in self-reliance mission , actual examples have to be set up . These people need to know there is a future in the agriculture not only nations ’ but theirs as well . Until and unless people get to earn more than what they have been earning abroad , they aren ’ t going to engage here . The government has to tackle with this problem in the first place . Average inflation was 6.4 percent in the first half of FY 2020 thus , to reach sustainability in agricultural development throughout the nation price of the agricultural product should be subsidized and tried to make stable . Frequent changes in food prices affect the producer , businessman , and consumers , which destabilize the market system . On the other hand , importance must be given to developing warehouses for storage , market researches , seed , production and soil quality enhancements , road networks for product transportation , restriction on low-quality fertilizers while encouraging organic farming . Solution to these problems could definitely be a stairway to agricultural revolution in Nepal .
It shows the positive indication to move towards food self-sufficiency and if provided with better off farm employment opportunities and better market for both farm produces and essential inputs ( Joshi , 2007 ). An ex-post analyses shows that for rice being a staple food for Nepalese , modest yield increases of 7 % ( based on CIGAR data ) or 14 per cent ( based on FAO data ) should have offset all the imports ( Giri et al ., 2017 ). For the agricultural country like Nepal , an increase in yield and production of own produces that could increase per capita food availability will be significant to increase the food self-sufficiency at the household level , which in turn would be effective in enhancing their food security and prevent them from falling into the vicious trap of poverty sharing and structural involution and hence , emphasis should be given to sustainable increase in agriculture productivity with delivery of favorable physical inputs and technical know-how , support in marketing and distribution systems , with efforts at various levels , including local government efforts , community efforts and farmers ’ efforts ( Maharjan et al ., 2005 ). Nepal , if focused on encouraging farmers through market security , transportation ease , production enhancement plans and policies and spent more in irrigation , it could substantially reduce its food insecurity and reach food selfreliance in near future even amidst the pandemic , Covid-19 .
Injal Bhattarai Environmental Science
Batch 2016
Nature and Social Concern Society 103