Efforts have begun to make 6 hilly districts of Lumbini Province 'organic'. The provincial government has prioritized making food and meat products 'organic' in the hilly districts.

The Lumbini Provincial Government had put forward a 15-year agricultural development strategy implementation plan since last year. Its implementation has begun. The provincial government had declared Rukum East as an organic district in the policy and program of the current fiscal year.

The government had approved the 'Lumbini Agricultural Development Strategy' in the last fiscal year. The strategy prioritizes the promotion of advanced seeds for agricultural transformation, utilization of barren land, one district, one crop program, climate-friendly agriculture, strengthening of resource centers, internal quarantine, establishment of export-oriented industries, and promotion of collaboration.

The strategy also prioritizes crop and water management, collaboration with the private sector, agricultural research-education-extension coordination, technology development and transfer. The work has been progressing with organic and commercial agriculture as the main goal in the second periodic plan. The implementation of the 'Lumbini Organic Agriculture Decade' has been brought forward by conducting an organic agriculture campaign.

The strategy has also emphasized on expanding agricultural businesses through modernization, industrialization and marketing, utilizing and sustainable management of wasteland, reducing investment risks through expansion of agricultural and livestock insurance programs, and strengthening agricultural infrastructure, technology and technical manpower. The livestock sector has a self-reliance and export-oriented target, and a strategy has been prepared and implemented to make livestock development modern, competitive and technologically advanced.

According to Hari Prasad Pandit, spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture, Land Management and Cooperatives of the province and senior agricultural economist, Lumbini province has an area of ​​2.228 million 800 hectares. Of that, 30.5 percent or 679 thousand 613 hectares is cultivable land. However, 535,351 hectares of land are under cultivation. Which is 78.8 percent. Irrigation facilities have reached only 45.9 percent, i.e. 245,541 hectares.

Lumbini Province's contribution to the national agricultural gross domestic product is 14.3 percent. The agricultural sector contributes 29.6 percent to the province's gross domestic product. He said that there are 765,092 farmers in the Lumbini Province. 'According to the data, 67 percent of the province's citizens are directly dependent on agriculture,' he said. 'Out of that, only 10 percent of farmers are commercial, the rest are working in the traditional farming system.' He said that it is a challenging situation to expand organic farming technology by making farmers who are practicing traditional farming systems commercial.

Chief Minister Chetnarayan Acharya said that the effective implementation of the strategy put forward by the government and the results obtained thereafter will make Lumbini province a model and organic in agriculture. For that, the provincial government has given high priority to making the hilly district an organic district. The government is also seriously discussing the provincial government's priorities, work direction and collaboration with partner agencies, achievements and effectiveness for agricultural development. The programs announced by the government in some districts have been effective.

It has been found that Nisdi Rural Municipality of Palpa has been declared organic and its ginger has been successful in reaching the international market. Based on that experience, the Chief Minister Acharya said that the target of declaring the area as an organic area with clear guidelines within 10 years has been set. ‘The government and partners can take forward the result-oriented program by investing 50/50 percent,’ he said. ‘We have included it in the policy and program with priority, including the basis for increasing organic production by managing forest litter and manure from the cowshed.’ He said that partnerships can be formed in fish, meat, milk, fruits, vegetables and other productive sectors by increasing cooperation with the partner agencies.’

The Butwal slaughterhouse, which the government has prepared with an investment of nearly Rs 10 million, has not been operational even after 3 years. The government should also classify such plans and prepare future plans. ‘Future plans should not be like that,’ he said. ‘Future partnership programs should be based on clear criteria and returns.’

Minister for Agriculture, Land Management and Cooperatives Dinesh Panthi said that the provincial government has been working with priority to become self-reliant in milk, meat, fish, vegetables and food grains. Dr. Heifer International Nepal’s National Director Tirtharaj Regmi said that various programs are being implemented with the aim of improving the living standards of small farmers, with Lumbini Province as a priority. Dinesh Panthi, Minister for Agriculture, Land Management and Cooperatives of the province, said that the Lumbini Province government has prepared a long-term plan for agricultural transformation and has started the implementation phase. ‘A program based on organic agriculture expansion, self-reliance in production, modernization and partnership has been put forward as the main basis in the coming year,’ he said. ‘For that, data on farmers who have adopted commercial agriculture and farmers dependent on traditional farming systems is also being collected.’ He said that additional strategies will be decided based on the needs after analyzing the data received.