The Ministry of Agriculture Development said on Wednesday that it planned to launch targeted programmes to ease youth access to agricultural activities in a bid to stem labour outflows that have severely hit the farm sector. The proposed programmes focused on livestock and crop production are aimed at retaining young people in the agricultural sector. “We definitely need to produce more to feed our growing population. Hence, agriculture should now be led by youths,” said Agriculture Minister Tek Prasad Gharti Thapa, speaking at a function marking 33rd World Food Day. Although the day is marked worldwide on Oct 16, the government decided to celebrate the event on Wednesday. This year, the day is being observed under the theme “Sustainable Food System for Food Security and Nutrition”. As youth unemployment is one of the major problems affecting the development of the country, Thapa said that the government was ready to lure youth to enter the agro sector. “This year, we will be identifying 1,000 potential young farmers for the special programme.” The ministry said that the success of the selected farmers could motivate other young people to view agriculture as a career opportunity. Due to a late monsoon and fertilizer shortages, agricultural growth slowed to an all-time low of 1.26 percent in the last fiscal year, down from 4.98 percent before. It adversely affected the country’s economic growth that shrank 3.56 percent, the lowest since the fiscal year 2006-07 when it grew 2.75 percent. Low production also increased the number of food deficit districts to 33 from the previous 27 and forced Nepal to import rice worth an alarming Rs 13.67 billion in the last fiscal year. “As the government has also set a 5 percent growth target in the agriculture sector this fiscal year, youth participation in the sector will be crucial,” Thapa said. The ministry has also decided to distribute wheat seeds at a subsidized rate this year. The participation of youths in the farm sector has dropped sharply mainly because it has become highly unattractive due to its high production costs and labour-intensive nature. “The government’s budget in the past year too neglected the sector,” said Agriculture Ministry Secretary Jay Mukunda Khanal. “But realizing the fact that this sector needs to feed the growing population, it has been put in the third spot in the priority list in terms of budget allocation.” The government has also introduced insurance facilities for livestock and crops. The government is committed to providing an adequate supply of chemical fertilizers and improved verities of seeds, he said. National Planning Commission Vice-Chairman Rabindra Kumar Shrestha said that the government had aimed to reduce the poverty level from 23.8 percent to 18 percent by 2015. “To achieve the target, a large number of development projects and programmes are needed particularly in the agriculture sector,” Shrestha said. Meanwhile, Raj Kumar Siwakoti, who was awarded for being the best farmer in the maize production category by the ministry, urged the government to develop a farm policy targeted at potential farmers. He said that the government should categorize farmers by distributing identity cards. “Government policy has not been able to address farmers’ concerns. As a result, the farm sector holds ‘no charm’ among the young population now.” Siwakoti added that the government should never dream about developing the country with the existing farming system, and urged it to provide loans at low interest rates without collateral to potential farmers to develop their entrepreneurship.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 05:57:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015