KATHMANDU: Six months after the declaration of the “Investment Decade in Agriculture 2024/25-2034/35”, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has been unable to devise plans and strategies. The government announced the Investment Decade in Agriculture to boost investments from government, private, cooperative, and development partners in the agriculture sector.
Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development Ramnath Adhikari discussed the Investment Decade with agriculture ministers and secretaries from all seven provinces in the third week of November. He sought their suggestions regarding potential investment areas in agriculture. All provincial agriculture ministers and secretaries assured the minister that they would prepare and submit their investment decade plans to the federal government within a month. However, senior ministry officials say that no province has yet submitted a draft plan for the Investment Decade.
Minister Adhikari said that studies were underway to explore investment opportunities in agriculture. “Investments during this decade should transform the agriculture sector. We cannot afford to create superficial plans, and waste time and resources,” he said. The minister also stressed the need to double the budget for agriculture, noting that it would be easier to bring agriculture back on track with adequate funding.
For the current fiscal year, the government has allocated Rs 57.29 billion to the ministry. However, Minister Adhikari said that this budget is insufficient to address the challenges in agricultural development. “More than just declaring an Investment Decade, we need a substantial budget for the agriculture sector. We need to increase the budget if we are to achieve meaningful progress,” Adhikari said. “I have informed the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Finance about this.”
He said that Rs 27.95 billion has been allocated to provide subsidy on chemical fertilizers in the current fiscal year which would cover only 40% of the current market demand. The total requirement for chemical fertilizers is Rs 63 billion, Adhikari added.
The Ministry of Agriculture aims to promote collective farming, increase production by leasing government land, boost the production of summer and winter paddy, expand maize cultivation, and enhance the production and consumption of indigenous crops during the Investment Decade. Additionally, the ministry plans to focus on producing fine and aromatic rice for export, as well as increasing the production of crops like cardamom, coffee, tea, ginger, turmeric, Akabare chili, onions and potatoes.
Agriculture Secretary Govind Sharma acknowledged that some agricultural programs have been sidelined due to budget constraints. He said subsidies need to be provided on improved seeds and irrigation to increase the production of sugarcane, maize, milk, fish and meat.
The concept of the Investment Decade is based on developing an agriculture system that interlinks agriculture, livestock and forestry through land-use planning. Secretary Sharma told Himal Press that discussions were ongoing to formulate plans accordingly. “The government aims to restructure programs to achieve self-sufficiency in major food crops and vegetables during the decade,” he added.
According to the ministry, there are 3.09 million hectares of arable land across the country. However, not all of it is under cultivation.
Agricultural expert Krishna Poudel said that increasing imports, climate change and other factors are escalating risks in the agriculture sector. “Although we have numerous rivers and streams for irrigation, less than half of the arable land has access to irrigation facilities. The government’s plans and policies are limited to only speeches,” Paudel said.
“Every year, agricultural products worth nearly Rs 300 billion are imported. The government lacks a plan to curb these imports.”
He added that areas under irrigation projects are also seeing challenges related to fertilizers and improved seeds.
