Finance minister reviews agricultural grants, subsidies ahead of new budget

KATHMANDU: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Bishnu Prasad Paudel, held a meeting with officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD) on Tuesday in the lead-up to formulating the budget for upcoming fiscal year 2025/26.

During the meeting, discussions focused on grants and subsidies for the agriculture sector and ways to make them systematic and effective. A serious review was conducted on the grants and subsidy programmes being implemented by the government in current fiscal year. As discussed, new measures will be taken to make the programmes result-oriented.

Finance Minister Paudel stated that the incentives and grants given to farmers should be reviewed and made relevant, and result-oriented.

Similarly, Agriculture Minister Ramnath Adhikari said the grants should be made result-oriented to increase agricultural production and make the country self-reliant in agro-products.

The MoALD has been providing grants for chemical fertiliser, livestock and crop insurance, sugarcane promotion, and other areas.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the total amount of grants and subsidies in the current fiscal year has reached almost Rs 36 billion.

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