A leader in planting, a farmer in irrigation and fertilizer

In the past too, someone had planted rice in a pot inside the Singha Durbar, and this time also there have been pictures of people wearing garlands of rice sitting on sofas decorated with rice paddies. The more these practices are done without giving concessions on irrigation, fertilizers and seeds to the farmers, the more Nepal's dependence on paddy and rice is increasing.

It is the time for farmers to 'plant mano and grow muri'. But due to lack of irrigation and chemical fertilizers, most of the farmers have not been able to plant. Asar 15, which is considered the busiest day of planting, barely 10 percent of planting has been completed across the country, while on average, more than 35 percent of planting has been done by this time. Due to the delay in planting, there are concerns that the overall rice production of the country will decrease this year, due to increasing urbanization and barrenness, the area to be planted is shrinking. Due to the lack of fertilizer and irrigation in the remaining fields, productivity has decreased and dependence on food has increased.

According to the data of the Department of Agriculture, only 136 thousand hectares have been planted till June 12 out of about 1.4 lakh hectares of paddy cultivation. In Madhesh, where more rice is produced, only about 3 percent has been planted. In Lumbini 8.8 percent, Gandaki 8.3 percent, Koshi 5.6 percent and Bagmati 18.3 percent have been planted. In Far West, 25 percent planting has been done. Due to very low rainfall since winter this year, dryness is more. There are no facilities for bringing water from distant large rivers. The underground water level is decreasing in Terai-Madhesh. There is a problem in many places that water cannot come even from 'deep boring'. Therefore, many farmers are waiting for rain to be able to plant crops.

The government is announcing policies and programs to increase irrigation facilities to increase agricultural productivity. A decade ago, the government said in its policy and program, "Reservoir construction, rainwater harvesting and underground water resource development will be done to provide irrigation facilities throughout the year." are confused.

In the Economic Survey 080/81, it is mentioned that irrigation facilities have reached 59 percent of the arable land. This data shows that there is still a lot of work to be done by the government for the availability of irrigation facilities. The problem of not having easy access to chemical fertilizers at the time of planting is always a problem. Although the problem is not as severe as last year, farmers are not getting enough fertilizer. The government is claiming that there will be no problem for rice cultivation by presenting the details of the fertilizers available with the agricultural materials company and Salt Trading Corporation, which provide subsidized fertilizers. Although there is manure in the godown, the farmers are complaining that they are not getting enough. There is also a complaint that some cooperatives have increased the price of fertilizer due to shortage. Since the government is not sensitive to this, there has been no intervention.

The government has declared 2081-2092 as the Decade of Investment in Agriculture, but has reduced the total budget for agriculture in the first year itself. In the budget, the fertilizer purchase budget has been cut by about two billion. Due to problems like fertilizers and irrigation, paddy cultivation has shrunk and productivity has decreased. Therefore, only in 11 months of the current financial year, paddy worth 11.55 billion and rice worth 8.69 billion have been imported. According to the customs department, only rice seeds worth 88 crores were imported during this period. Almost the same problem is increasing dependence on other food crops. But the government does not seem to be serious about it. Farmers don't get the declared subsidies on time, there is also a problem with agricultural insurance.

Whether it is rice or other food crops, it is necessary for the government to conduct projects to increase irrigation facilities to increase production and productivity, the irrigation projects under construction should be completed as soon as possible. Programs to protect water resources are needed. The government should facilitate availability of seeds and fertilizers. Farmers should also be encouraged to improve the farming system. Services like insurance, subsidies should be within easy reach of common farmers. Agriculture is a big sector of self-employment, the government's priority should be at the same level.