April 15: The newly set up office of the National Food Bank has been inaugurated at New Baneshwor on Thursday, April 15, according to the state-owned national news agency RSS. The bank was established in February by agriculture experts and scientists of  Nepal with the slogan 'Sustainable Agriculture for Nutrient-Rich Food' in order to give priority to organic production.    
Chairperson of Bank, Shankar Nath Upreti, said that the bank was established with an objective of giving emphasis on organic production by reducing dependency on agriculture, RSS reported.    
The bank was established at the investment of Rs 2 billion and it has 590 promoter shareholders so far. According to the bank, preparation has been made to increase the number of promoter shareholders to 1,000.

The food bank, which is working with short-term, mid-term and long-term objectives, has given priority to the production of paddy, wheat, maize, millet, potato, mustard and nuts in the first phase. In the second phase, production of fish, meat, fruits, milk, vegetables, etc. will be emphasized and in the third phase, these products will be exported to different countries by storing, processing, grading and packaging.
Upreti further said that the bank has been making preparation to issue IPO for general people soon by fulfilling all required criteria.

"We facilitate production of and carry out trade in rice, wheat, maize, vegetables and fruits through bank. We increase production collaborating with farmers," RSS quoted Upreti as saying.
The bank has made preparation to begin activities of agriculture production in 23 districts in the first phase within the current fiscal year. Six hundred bighas of land in different districts of Tarai have been taken on lease for the purpose.    
The bank has already started production in 13 districts including Kailali, Kanchanpur, Bardiya, Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, Chitwan and Rupandehi taking land on lease.

The food bank was established with the objective of industrializing the agriculture sector in the near future by properly managing the necessary knowledge, skills, seeds and fertilisers required for this sector.

The bank has been established by skilled manpower, experts and agricultural scientists working in the field of agriculture.

According to government data, Nepal has imported rice worth Rs 56 billion, lemon worth Rs 7 billion and onion worth Rs 7 billion in the last two years. Referring to this data, Chairman Upreti said that the food bank would play an important role in increasing exports by reducing imports.