Kathmandu. For the upcoming fiscal year 2082/83 BS, the government brought a budget of Rs 190 million more than the current budget for the agriculture sector. In the current fiscal year 2081/82, rs 57.28 billion has been allocated for the agriculture sector, while Rs 57.48 billion has been allocated for the next year.
Although the budget has increased slightly, there are no new programs for the farmers, there is no budget for the new program. Looking at the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture, more than half of the allocated budget will be spent on the purchase of chemical fertilizers.
The government has allocated Rs 28.82 billion for fertilizers alone for the coming year. The government had allocated Rs 27.85 billion for the purchase of fertilizers in the current fiscal year. The government has said it will increase the supply of chemical fertilizers to 600,000 metric tonnes next year.
The government has allocated Rs 3.5 billion for the next fiscal year as the National Agriculture Modernization Programme. A budget of Rs 2.98 billion was allocated for the programme in the current year. Even the allocated budget has not been spent effectively in the current year. However, the government is trying to take this program forward by increasing the budget.
However, in the current year’s budget presented by the then Finance Minister Barshaman Pun on May 15 last year, it was announced to transform the agriculture sector. Although Pun had announced a decade of investment in agriculture in the budget, this year the program has been dropped.
In the budget presented by the then Finance Minister Pun, it was said that production and productivity would be increased by commercializing and modernizing agriculture. I have declared the period from 2081 to 2091 as investment decade in agriculture to increase investment in agriculture sector by government, private, cooperative and development partners. ’
However, this program has not been included in the budget brought by the government for the coming year. The budget does not seem to have been allocated for this. Instead, the upcoming budget has announced to increase production and productivity through commercialization and mechanization of the agriculture sector, but not enough budget has been allocated. There is a risk that this cable will be limited to paper only.
Similarly, in the budget of the agriculture sector for the next year, it has been announced that the agricultural land will be utilized to the maximum through collective, cooperative and private firms, and concrete programs will be run to make them self-sufficient in major food, vegetables, fruits, milk and meat products, but the government has not allocated enough budget for the development of these sectors.
Rs 400 million has been earmarked for organic agriculture promotion programme to increase productivity by maintaining soil quality next year.
The government plans to promote production on arable barren land around pushpalal mid-hill highway and Madan Bhandari highway and expand cash crops, animal husbandry, high value fruits, non-timber forest produce, grass and agro-forestry system. However, there is doubt that these schemes will be completed due to lack of adequate budget allocation.
In the next year’s budget, the government has announced to produce 55 million doses of vaccine in the next fiscal year to increase the productivity of animal husbandry through 850,000 artificial insemination through breed improvement programs to control diseases and epidemics in livestock.
In the current fiscal year, 42.8 million fish husks will be produced and one million fruit seedlings will be distributed. For all these programs, the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock for the next financial year will be spent.
Officials at the Ministry of Agriculture have said that more than half of the budget will be spent on chemical fertilizers to current expenses. This year, the farmers will be disappointed if the budget of agriculture is not available to directly benefit.
Agriculture Minister Ramnath Adhikari also admitted that the budget for the agriculture sector has come down. According to him, the budget could not be managed due to the economic contraction in the country.
He said that despite the efforts, the state has not been able to allocate a big budget for the ongoing programs.
Speaking at a meeting of the Development, Economic Affairs and Good Governance Committee under the National Assembly held at Singha Durbar on Sunday, Minister Adhikari said, “We have not been able to manage the budget everywhere due to our economic contraction. We have tried. The state has allocated money according to its situation in the ongoing programs. Being a cabinet minister, I can’t talk much. The money has come as per the requirement. But it is not the only environment in which it can increase the production of agricultural products and stand on its feet. ’
According to him, the government does not have the budget to manage the market of agricultural products. At present, the government has been able to manage only 11 places. Although the government has to go everywhere to manage the market of agricultural commodities, the government has not been able to go.
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