The agricultural programs launched by the Lumbini state government are failing. With the aim of making the province self-sufficient in agriculture, the Lumbini government has been adding new programs every year giving priority to agriculture in the budget, but their implementation has not been effective.

Lumbini government has been promoting attractive programs like contract farming, smart agriculture program, agricultural loan, land bank, collective farming program, cooperative farming campaign with the aim of recultivating barren land.

The first government of Lumbini introduced the contract farming program through the budget with the aim of enriching the farmers and the province by increasing agricultural production and productivity. A policy was taken to provide land for a certain period of time to the farmers who wanted to cultivate using barren land.

In 2074/75, the government allocated 22 million for the same program. But neither the landowners were ready to give the contract as expected by the government, nor the farmers were attracted to the government's policy. 

Yamnarayan Devkota, secretary of the Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives, said that in the first year of the establishment of the state, it took time to make policies and the process was complicated for farmers.

"There was a policy arrangement for food crops to be cultivated for 1 year and cash crops for 15 years under land contract," he said, "but the farmers were not attracted to the government's program." 

The government spent more than 170 million only in the name of contract farming in the first year. In that year, only about 2 billion was spent in the name of agricultural subsidy. In order to take a leap from agriculture, the state government again introduced a Sulabh Karja scheme aimed at farmers in 2076.

The government introduced the program without analyzing the data rather than on the basis of demand and need. 1 crore was allocated under Sulabh Karja Yojana programme. But in the first year, not even Rs 30 lakh was spent, so the government postponed the program the next year.

The state government launched the Smart Agricultural Village program targeting 52 constituencies of the state to have a long-term impact. The plan was to extend the program, which has been effective for three years, to every municipality.

That program is still going on in some constituencies and municipalities. But the program has been effective only until the grant is distributed. That program is being closed in many municipalities. For 6 years of operation, the government has spent nearly 2 billion on the Smart Agriculture Village program alone.

The government distributed funds at the rate of 5 million rupees per year for each smart agricultural village. The policy of the program was to select villages on the recommendation of the Provincial Assembly member and reduce the investment ratio every year. However, due to the same policy, after the subsidy was stopped, 'in production 

Minister of Agriculture, Land Management and Cooperatives Dinesh Panthi said that this program of the government to develop as a model village has failed. "Because the farmers did not understand the importance, the impact of the program decreased," he said.

Lumbini Another farmer-targeted program introduced by the government is Bhumi Bank. In 2077/78 only Rs 50 lakh was allocated for the study of this programme. The aim of the government was to open a land bank to increase the productivity of individual lands throughout the province by bringing them to commercial use. The government was prepared to take the land of the farmers and rent it out to the farmers who want to cultivate, but do not have land.

It was the government's policy to provide a fixed return when 'depositing' land in land bank, just like getting interest when keeping money in a bank. Former Lumbini Chief Minister Kul Prasad KC had put forward such a policy. However, after the change of government, that program has been stalled.

In order to implement the grant and concession programs brought by the provincial government for the target groups and to prevent misuse in the distribution of subsidies, the government also introduced the concept of another program called 'Provincial Bank'. 51 percent of the provincial government and 49 percent of the local level, other financial institutions and the general public had investment proposals in the state bank.

The then Economic Affairs and Planning Minister Krishnadhwaj Khadka said that the program failed with the change of minister and government. 'The relevance of that program is still visible in our province,' he said, 'but the previous government did not care about it.' A budget of 40 million was allocated by giving priority to the agricultural sector while advancing the development program, but with the change of government, the program was stalled. 

A moisture center (cold store) has been constructed in all the districts of the province to store agricultural products and replace imports. However, the farmers have not been able to use these cold stores due to the lack of operational procedures and cost management.

Ghanshyam Chaudhary, director of crop security and head of the division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land Management and Cooperatives, said that the program could not be effective due to lack of maturity between receivers and donors. He said, "Those engaged in agriculture have not been able to realize that they can survive on this and that the future is secure. On the other hand, those who do not think that they will do agriculture from their heart, try to do it only on the basis of what others say, it gradually disappears.' 

Anup Tiwari, Agricultural Economist and Information Officer of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land Management and Cooperatives, said that there is a need to refine and carry out the farmer targeted programs launched by the government. He said, "In recent years, as the agricultural subsidy has decreased, the number of farmers who farm for the subsidy has also decreased, but the real farmers are working with more energy."