May 30: The government has increased the budget for the agriculture sector for the upcoming fiscal year to make the country self-reliant in agriculture. The government has announced a national campaign for agricultural production for self-reliance in Fiscal Year 2022/23 with the objective of discouraging increasing imports of agricultural produce. 

The government has allocated a total budget of Rs 55.97 billion for the agriculture sector, which is Rs 10 billion more than the budget of this sector in the current fiscal year. The government had allocated Rs 45.09 billion for agriculture and livestock development in the current fiscal year. 

The government plans to increase agricultural production by linking the farmers with agricultural cooperative groups and cooperatives and using the available cultivable land as well as barren land. The government will emphasize increasing productivity through commercialization, modernization and mechanization of this sector. For the effective implementation of the program, a high level mechanism comprising line ministers will be formed under the coordination of the prime minister. 

In the budget of the upcoming fiscal year, the government has set a target to deliver the required agricultural loan at the doorsteps of the farmers by setting up a microfinance fund of Rs 500 billion. Moreover, arrangements have been made for the banks and financial institutions to invest the fund mandatorily in the deprived sector and in the agricultural sector.  The government will also make arrangements for the Citizen’s Investment Trust, Employees’ Provident Fund and Social Security Fund to invest a certain amount in this fund. 

The 'Prime Minister's Nepali Production and Consumption Growth Program' will be launched through the budget for which Rs 3.45 billion has been allocated. Earlier, the government had launched the Prime Minister's Agriculture Modernization Project in 2073. This year, the government has allocated Rs 5.90 billion for this project. 

Reviewing the agriculture budget announced by the government on Sunday, Uddhav Adhikari, coordinator of the Agriculture Campaign for Food, said that the government has succeeded in bringing a budget that is liked by all. While the risk of food security is increasing worldwide, he said that the government has been able to bring the budget with the focus on agriculture, which is a matter of happiness. “Looking at the budget of the last 8 to 10 years, the budget for the agriculture sector this year should be considered positive,” he said. 

At a time when the number of youths have looked down upon the profession of agriculture and have opted to go abroad, the government has brought a programme to attract the youths as well.  

Under this programme, the government plans to set up a farmers' welfare fund to start a contribution-based farmer's pension scheme. It is mentioned in the budget that the government will deposit 10 percent of the amount contributed by the farmers in the fund every month. An initial budget of Rs 1 billion has been allocated for the establishment of the fund. 

Former Chairman of the National Farmers Commission Chitra Bahadur Shrestha said that although the overall budget of agriculture is reasonable, the budget allocated by the government for the supply of chemical fertilizers for the upcoming fiscal year may be insufficient. Furthermore, he also said that the implementation of the budget is challenging. 

The government is planning to set up a chemical fertilizer factory using green hydrogen and green ammonia technology through the Investment Board. Although the government's plan to open a fertilizer factory has been mentioned in previous budgets, it has never been implemented. 

The government has allocated Rs 15 billion for the supply of chemical fertilizers in the upcoming fiscal year. In the current fiscal year, the government had allocated Rs 12 billion. The government had added Rs 3 billion after the budget was insufficient to procure the required fertilizer. 

The budget also has provision to fix the minimum support price of agricultural products including paddy, wheat, maize and milk. The products will be procured through government companies and if there is any difference between the support price and purchase price, research will be done. Similarly, Rs 450 million has been allocated for the construction of 100 warehouses across the country for storage of main food crops including paddy.