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Thu, March 28, 2024

Being self-sufficient isn’t completely possible for any country in the world. There will always be certain things we can’t cultivate and will have to import from other countries.

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Dr Hari Bahadur KC is the Joint Secretary of Food Security and Food Technology Division at Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. Originally from Lamjung, he did his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (B.Sc. Ag) from Rampur Campus run by Tribhuvan University Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science after which he went back home and taught agriculture in a school for a year. He then joined government service in the agriculture division in March 1995 and has completed 25 years in this field. He obtained his Masters and PhD degree in Crop Protection and Pesticide Management from Ghent University, Belgium. His PhD research paper was based on pathogenic nematodes found in Nepal. He was also assigned to agriculture development offices in nine districts. After the division of provinces and being promoted to class-one officer, he was assigned Secretary of Provincial Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development for Province 1 (Arun Province) for seven months. He has been in his current position and as the Spokesperson for the Ministry for a year. In an interview with Dibesh Dangol from B360, Dr Hari Bahadur KC talks about issues related to transportation and management of produce from farmers to market, attracting youth and migrant workers into agriculture, agricultural trade deficit, new large scale vegetable and fruit markets, and rooftop gardening and farming. Excerpts:

Viral videos of farmers destroying their harvest being unable to transport them to the markets due to the lockdown has exposed the gap in the management of getting produce from farmers to markets. What is the Ministry’s response to this situation?

Management and transportation problems in products such as corn, poultry, bananas, vegetables and flowers were seen after 2-3 weeks of the lockdown. The situation came about because of the abrupt announcement of the lockdown by the government due to COVID 19, a measure the government had to take to control the spread of the virus. The abrupt and strict lockdown imposed by the government during the first few weeks didn’t give us enough time to find solutions to the situation. Also, after the lockdown announcement, people who had migrated to cities and urban areas started going back to their cities and villages. Restaurants, hotels, party palaces and hostel businesses were abruptly closed due to which the demand for vegetables and other agricultural products in the cities decreased immensely. After the first week of lockdown, the Department of Agriculture along with other departments which come under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and various provincial and local governments took the initiative to find necessary data regarding demand and supply of necessary products and also urged the government to allow the opening of vegetables and poultry markets and shops following necessary social distancing norms, rules and regulations. While it eased daily business, the problem is still unabated because the majority of produce buyers like restaurants, hotels, party palaces, etc. are still closed. There are two things we should understand; there are products like rice, wheat, lentils, etc which can be stored and will not rot anytime soon and there are products like vegetables and fruits which have very less storage validity and will rot if they aren’t distributed, marketed and sold within a certain period or kept in cold storage facilities. There are cold storage facilities in various parts of Nepal but majority of these are in major cities of Nepal. This is the reason we have planned to build and establish cold chambers in various municipalities within this fiscal year so that farmers and cooperatives will have easy access to them and won’t have to depend on transporting their products to cold storages. Cold chambers and cold storages are completely different; cold storages are huge and can store more than thousand metric tons whereas cold chambers are small but will be enough to store the produce of farmers of a municipality. Many municipalities, local governments and provincial governments have also kept establishing of cold chambers in their agenda for this fiscal year.

A few months ago, news regarding plans of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development to introduce a youth programme worth Rs 2 billion surfaced targeting attracting the youths into the agricultural sector. Can you tell us more about the programme?

This programme was of the last fiscal year but it didn’t come into operation fully because it is a grant-based programme and the bill hadn’t been passed by the Constituent Assembly. Also because of the coronavirus, the programme couldn’t be operated. For this year, our main agenda is to attract youth into agriculture in a different way. We want to gather data on youth and recently-returned migrant workers who are seriously interested in agriculture from cities, villages and different areas of Nepal. Not only farming, but data will be collected and mapped on what type of work they want to get involved in in the field of agriculture and livestock like processing, distribution, business opening, cold storage and chamber opening and management, etc. Interested individuals will then be linked with training centres of various provinces and local governments in areas they want to specialise in; similar to a business incubation programme and training. We think that the major problem will arise after they have finished the training i.e. regarding startup capital which is why we want to create a soft-loan programme with about 3-5% interest. We are having conversations with the Ministry of Finance and Nepal Rastra Bank regarding this and also about simplifying loan processes to anyone involved in agriculture and livestock, especially farmers. We are also urging the municipalities to support, provide grants and create soft-loan programmes for people who are or want to get into agriculture and livestock. To make this programme a success, we have already started working with the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Forest and Environment, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Youth, etc.

Farmers have been producing on small plots of land and selling the produce to the cooperatives which gives them very low profitability. Are there any plans to enable and empower the farmers directly while cutting out middlemen?

Such issues were there a few years ago and had been solved but due to the lockdown, it has reoccurred in agricultural products except fruits and vegetables. We are addressing and monitoring the issue along with the Ministry of Commerce and we will punish such cooperatives who have taken advantage of farmers during the lockdown and pandemic period. In agriculture, there are specifically two things that farmers and anyone who is involved in this field needs to know: mass production and production by mass. In a small country like Nepal where we have limited land area due to geographical reasons, it’s very difficult to go into mass production. Industrialists are also getting into agriculture and they are investing in this sector which is a great thing for the future of the agriculture sector. But the majority of Nepali farmers are small and medium scale farmers. They have their small land and are producing a small amount of produce on their land which is why we have found production by mass to be the most suitable model in Nepal. Because of such reasons, we have told farmers to make groups, communities or cooperatives so that the products can be collected by a single party and distributed in various markets. So far this is the way our farmers are united and selling their produce. But it is also possible to unite them by uniting their labour and land to go into mass production but it’s very hard to convince them due to various reasons. If the farmers want to do so, we will fully support them in every way we can whether it’s regarding seeds, fertilisers, machinery, technology, etc.

How are you addressing the transportation and cost issues of apple farmers?

There has been a significant rise in production of apples in Nepal in the last five years. Majority of the apples are produced in Manang, Mustang, Humla and Jumla districts. Currently, the farmers are growing apples on a large scale and have also established cold chambers and storages in apple farming areas and major cities which is a positive. But the main problem for Nepali apple farmers has been transportation and distribution of apples. The price of apples which are imported from India and China are low whereas the price of domestic apples is high, the reason being transportation-related issues, which is why fewer people consume domestic apples. Issues regarding quality check of the apples have also been a problem but there are certain apple farmers and distributors who have established quality check department in their farm or company which I think has added value to Nepali apples. We are addressing the issues regarding managing transportation cost and other variables to equalise the price of Nepali apples to that of foreign apples in association with apple farmers, distributors and companies along with transportation stakeholders. Pretty soon we will be able to make our Nepali apples accessible to not just the Nepali market but also the international market.

What about quality and hygiene check of agricultural products mainly in terms of vegetables in Nepal?

This is a huge concern for Nepali customers. Nowadays, customers are more into quality, organic and hygienic products which is why we know that our primary duty is to assure customers. Quality check of every product isn’t possible which is why we have created a team that oversees the quality of produce in cooperatives and tags them accordingly. We have also been checking and tagging the products according to the level or amount of pesticides and fertilisers found in them and those which aren’t consume-worthy are discarded. There are three types of tagging and managing system we are currently using: must be consumed on the same day, can be stored and is valid for a certain time, and not consumable. We have also started the Good Agriculture Practice (GAP) certification system from last year and three farms have already got the GAP certificate. The three farms that have been awarded the certificate can put the GAP tag on their products. Although we have already started these types of quality and hygiene checking systems, we haven’t been able to fully develop a system. It will take a few years for that.

Nepal relies heavily on agricultural imports from India and other countries? How is the Ministry trying to address the trade deficit?

We are indeed heavily reliant on agricultural imports from India and other countries. But since the last few years, a large number of youths have entered the agriculture and livestock sector. They see the scope that this sector offers. The Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Ghanashyam Bhusal also released a slogan: Samridhi Krisi, Surakshit Bachat (Prosperous Farming, Secured Savings). Our main goal is to secure at least 25% net profit for the farmers after deducting all their expenses including their blood and sweat that they can either save or reinvest as additional capital. Though we may not be living up to the statement for now, we are working towards it. We are self-sufficient in terms of dairy and poultry, green vegetables, maize and lentils. We are highly dependent on other countries for fruits and moderately on rice and vegetables like potatoes, onions and garlic. If everything goes as planned, I think we will be self-sufficient within 3-5 years. To achieve this, we are working on re-fertilising barren land and creating cultivation programmes. There is a possibility of cultivating paddy during March and April, in land area of 3 lakh hectares in Nepal whereas only 1-1.5 lakh hectares is currently being used to cultivate paddy. We are working on creating incentives for farmers who want to cultivate Chaitya Dhan and also on programmes based on cultivation, distribution, marketing, etc. Being self-sufficient isn’t completely possible for any country in the world. There will always be certain things we can’t cultivate and will have to import from other countries. Also, global trade is important to maintain relationship between countries. We also can’t force farmers who are cultivating cash crops to switch to food crops. Majority of our imports are based on the monetary value of the produce. For example: though tomatoes are cultivated in the Terai region and India at the same time, in India, it’s done in mass production whereas in Nepal the production is very low which is why the price of Nepali tomatoes are higher. Also, some of the imports like fruits are essential because fruit cultivation is done in very less amounts in Nepal and it is difficult due to the geographical situation of Nepal. Increasing fruit production in Nepal will take time. There are various ways to solve the trade deficit problem and we are working on it: One is by reinvigorating the feeling of nationalism in Nepalis and urging citizens to consume national produce but the rhetoric should not be formulated with the intention to make them boycott imported produce. Another is by creating sufficient channels, groups and cooperatives so that the price of the product becomes low and matches products from other countries. The last is to increase the production of cash crops so that we can increase the export numbers and cut down on trade deficit. Apart from cash crops, various Nepali food crops like vegetables and spices are also in demand and are being exported to the South Asian and Persian Gulf countries.

What are the top five agricultural imports and exports of Nepal?

Our main import is rice at about Rs. 300 million worth being imported every year. Second most imported products are fruits and vegetables like potatoes, onions and garlic. In terms of exports, cardamom is our main export followed by ginger, tea and Pashmina products.

The government announced plans to create 700,000 jobs in the fiscal year 2020-2021 in different sectors including agriculture but a task force formed to study the impact of Covid 19 has said that the country needs to create 1.5 million jobs. How is the Ministry of Agriculture working with other Ministries to create jobs to meet this target set by the government?

We are not sure about the percentage or the number of people wanting to join the agriculture field. We need to conduct mapping of the situation first before categorically stating that this particular percentage of people would be given jobs in the agriculture sector. We are working on it with local, provincial, central governments and the private sector, and are waiting for approval of various programmes we have in our pipeline which will certainly create a large number of jobs in the agricultural sector. We also need to conduct business orientation programmes so that people wanting to join this sector will get proper knowledge. Creating jobs or motivating people to join the agriculture sector isn’t difficult because it’s our ancestral occupation and people know the growth and financial potential of the sector in Nepal. The only problem is that nowadays people are into fast and easy money which is why they prefer to do jobs. I don’t think creating 700,000, 1.5 million or even more than that in this fiscal year is impossible if the government, ministries and the private sectors work together. But, the main problem is that people still prefer to take risks and go for foreign employment. This trend of brain and labour drain can only change if positive signs in terms of job creation, doing business and proper remuneration can be shown to the Nepalis by the government.

The Ministry announced last year that it is planning to create 4-5 new large scale markets in and around Kathmandu Valley to ease the tension and mismanagement at the Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market. What’s the current situation?

The budget for creating 4-5 large scale market was separated in the last fiscal year and it’s continuing this year as well. The process of such markets at Tarakeshwar and Sankhu is ongoing. The DPR report of Tarakeshwar has already been prepared. Since the land area in and around Kathmandu valley is limited, and huge land area is needed for creating such markets, the way we had planned for this project isn’t going well. But the market at Chobar is nearly completed and will be in operation within this fiscal year. There are several small and medium scale private markets in an around the valley, and young entrepreneurs and companies are getting interested in creating such markets which is a positive sign. Our goal to create such markets is not just to ease the situation of the Kalimati Market but also to provide ease to sellers and customers. We want to create an ecosystem where retailers do not bear the burden of increased costs and do not have to pay a higher price for produce. We are working on bringing at least two such large scale markets into operation this year.
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