Policy and program of FY 2077/78 and various issues of agriculture to be covered by the budget in 20 points

2077 Baishakh 21

Honorable Minister

Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development

Singha Durbar, Kathmandu

 

Subject: Federal Government Regarding the suggestions of the agricultural sectors to be addressed through the policy and program and budget of FY 2077/78.

Corona (Covid 19) is a virus that affects humans and their activities around the world. The whole human world is struggling with this virus today. It is the responsibility of the state to keep the citizens safe by managing the problems created by it. The source of food is mainly land, forest, and water. Agriculture is its mainstay. Because of this, agriculture is also human health. Nepal's constitutional system guarantees every citizen the right to regular access to adequate, nutritious, and quality food. This is the cornerstone of the practice of socialism envisioned by the constitution. Its basis is self-reliant agriculture. Today, 3.8 million Nepali farmer families are engaged in agriculture.

Governments of the country In the context of preparing the policy, program, and budget for FY 2077/78, this is the right time for the agricultural country of Nepal to make meaningful intervention to move forward the step toward self-reliance through the agricultural system and food system and to make a national resolution that we produce the food required by the country. Therefore, the National Farmers Group Federation of Nepal, the umbrella organization of farmers, cordially requests to include the detailed programs in the policy and program formulation, allocate the budget and make the journey of the honored farmers and a prosperous nation.

Areas covered by policies and programs and budget for agricultural development:

1. Farmer's special relief (seed, fertilizer, grain, sale price) including compensation for farmers who have lost their produce due to Covid-19, farmers-vegetable production, poultry, florist, goat, wild boar, banana grower, etc. The farming profession should be encouraged by making arrangements.

2. Most of the contributors to remittances have returned to Nepal. Let's prepare a program to create employment in the agricultural sector through local government by addressing the youth force and skills returning from abroad. Their experience can be mobilized through rural cooperatives and medium industries. This can be the basis for building a self-respecting agricultural economy. Therefore, special priority should be given to the youth-targeted green agriculture employment programs.

3. Make the agriculture budget conditional by allocating at least 20 percent budget for the development of the agriculture sector which contributes 28 percent of the GDP.

4. At the local level, it is necessary to keep details of landless, agricultural laborers, laborers, small farmers, and families at risk of food crisis below the poverty line, and update it from time to time. In order to link the package, and service facility (insurance, easy loan, fertilizer, tools, etc.) with the real farmer, priority should be given to the program of distributing service facility on the basis of the farmer's identity, classification, and identity card under the leadership of the local level.

5. In order to facilitate and encourage the landless, marginalized, women, and small farmers, special concessions should be made for improved seed vision, irrigation technology, agricultural insurance, concessional agricultural loans, fertilizers, and farmers' market. In order to bring the real small farmers under the scope of subsidy and agricultural service, arrangements should be made to expand the service to the targeted farmers by looking for alternatives to the existing distribution system of subsidy.

6. Livestock and Crop Insurance Policy Despite being farmer-friendly, small and marginal farmers in rural areas have not been able to access it. The budget should be provided for the operation of the crop and animal insurance programs. Arrangements should be made for production at the cost of crop insurance.

7. After preparing the details of the landless, unemployed, etc. within the municipality, the wasted agricultural land available to them in that place should be leased for long-term use and the farming practice should be made available through the local levels and a planned agricultural practice (enterprise) based on criteria should be adopted.

8. At the local level, in coordination with the farmers' groups, agricultural cooperatives, collectives, and Pooling (small, medium, or large depending on the condition of the land), special areas with necessary infrastructure should be declared and production should be emphasized.

9. The support price should be fixed before planting the crop by setting certain criteria so that the farmer can save a minimum from each crop. Guarantee the purchase of farmers' produce in such a way that the support price is not reduced with the strict coordination of the layered government.

10. Development of value chain and sustainable market system in partnership with local government and agricultural cooperatives, and farmer groups. By including the agricultural products produced by Nepali farmers in the export list, the hassle of Nepali farmers in export and import should be ended forever and the entry of agricultural produce into the international market should be ensured easily.

11. Priority should be given to the development of suitable structures at every local level so that the perishable agricultural products can be stored for a long time or processed in a timely manner in case of non-sale or even during the sale. The market for livestock and meat products should be managed separately. 

12. Special grants for the promotion of family farming system and sustainable and self-reliant agriculture through organic farming and special campaigns for conservation, consolidation, and promotion of nutritious natives, seedlings, and crops for healthy human life and healthy human life.

13. Farmers Group / Animal Service Group is an organized form of marginalized, landless women and small farmers engaged in agriculture. Due to the inability of the state to provide services to all the farmers, the government has been forced to manage the services in a group according to the capacity of the farmers. Farmers' groups and animal services have been formed to support the agricultural production of the country. Farmers group/animal service group does not get any project of any organization or government project. The last group of farmers group animal service groups has saved Rs.2-5. As the government has been making a living by complying with the law, the provision that farmers' groups and animal service groups should be abolished under the pretext of bringing the organization under the tax net is against the interest of the farmers and the group.

14. The constitutional system of Nepal should ensure the right to regular access to adequate, nutritious, and quality food to every citizen as the basis for ensuring the provision of Seed Bank and Food Bhakari at the local level.

15. Farmers' health insurance and contribution-based farmers' pensions should be arranged.

१६.Due to the non-functioning of the ministries related to agriculture and up to the states, the farmers are weak, then considering the real situation of agricultural technical capacity at the local level, agriculture and animal technicians should be arranged in each ward and agriculture and animal experts at the municipal level for result-oriented agricultural development.

17. Through policies and programs, a clear blueprint for seeds, cultivable land, agricultural inputs, technical services, production management, and marketing should be provided to the state government and local level to encourage agricultural development.

18. By reviewing the 20-year agriculture strategy and making small farmer-friendly and self-reliant agriculture in accordance with the federal structure and environment, arrangements should be made to formulate agricultural policies and programs of the government through this strategy.

19. In order to keep the land barren, through the local government, the farmers should be encouraged and arrangements should be made for facilitation in the system of planned production (local level planning, assistance of agricultural technicians, assurance of sale).

20. In order to monitor the effectiveness of agricultural programs, a monitoring committee (local government, farmers group, cooperative national farmer group federation) should be formed from the local level to the federal level.

बोधार्थ

Honorable Minister,

Ministry of Finance,

Singha Durbar, Kathmandu.

 

......................

Navraj Basnet

(President)

National Farmer's Group Federation Nepal