Siraha. Due to the lack of ‘plant quarantine’ service at the Madar Customs Office, it is mandatory for the entrepreneurs importing and exporting agricultural products to reach Biratnagar or Jaleshwor. Although the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and the subordinate departments have been pointing out the need for plant quarantine laboratory, it has not materialised.
It was decided to set up plant quarantines at Siraha, Maheshpur and Suthauli customs in 2078 BS with the objective of inspecting and testing agricultural products. A letter was also sent through the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and plant quarantine and pesticide management center, Harihar Bhawan to deploy technicians to the concerned offices.
Toyanath Sapkota, chief of the Customs Office at Madar, said that the lack of arrangement of plant quarantine has created serious problems in service delivery even after a long time of taking this decision. Recently, a delegation led by Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development Deepak Kharal and customs officials held discussions regarding the establishment of plant quarantine.
“They had come here on June 14. During the discussion, they pledged to take necessary initiatives to start plant quarantine service at the concerned places as soon as possible,” said Customs Officer Sapkota. ‘
Chief Sapkota said laboratory tests should be carried out before auctioning the stolen food items. At present, it is impossible for customs officials who do not have labs and quarantine to conduct lab tests before auctioning food items. A plant quarantine is necessary to export mango, litchi and other fruits produced by farmers of Siraha-Saptari region to the Indian market.
Customs Chief Sapkota said, “Mango produced in the orchard here is available at Rs 25-30 per kg, while in Jayanagar of India, the quality of mangoes of poor quality is Rs 70-80. In such a situation, the establishment of plant quarantine lab can also play a decisive role in creating an environment where Nepali farmers can benefit and increase revenue by controlling smuggling and export. ‘
According to Sapkota, plant quarantine is also mandatory to implement the slogan included in the government policy and budget statement that ‘the scope should be increased, not the tax rate’. Infrastructure available in Madar, service can be started immediately
The animal quarantine office at Madar has plenty of land and well-equipped buildings. Chief Sapkota said that there is no need to look for another building as the office of plant quarantine can be kept in the same building. If a plant quarantine office is set up at Madar, customs offices at Madar, Thadi and Rajbiraj will also be included.
Sapkota said, “The establishment of plant quarantine office will benefit the entrepreneurs, farmers and the government. We have been taking initiatives time and again and hope that our efforts will be fruitful now. At present, traders importing and exporting agricultural products have to reach Biratnagar and Jaleshwor due to lack of plant quarantine service.
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