By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Mar. 7: The national campaign for listing farmers got underway from Saturday.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has launched the farmer registration management system prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development amid a function organised in Kathmandu today.
Prime Minister Oli stressed on the need of adopting large scale agriculture system to ensure income to farmers along with economic development of the country.
“Farmers should be encouraged for commercial farming instead of subsistence farming through the groups and cooperatives to produce on a large scale. When the production increases, the agro-based industries are feeling encouraged establishing,” he said.
Prime Minister Oli said that the ministry with the coordination of Province and Local governments should conduct skill-based training, commercial training and connect the farmers with the technology.
He said that agricultural sector has now entered the modern age as the registration of farmers would classify the situation of the farmers and ensure their access to the government support and facilities.
The government will fulfil all the needs of the farmers once they are identified, he said.
The Prime Minister, however, said that it was a must to focus on providing loans at nominal interest rate instead of grants and provide equipment rather than cash.
“Agriculture is an engine to make all sectors, including human life, vibrant. The government is working to make agriculture dignified and everyone’s support is needed for this.”
Stating that there should be healthy food to build healthy Nepal, he also stressed on the need to pay attention to purity from the kitchen.
He said that the government was making efforts to make every sector of agriculture self-reliant.
Stating that farmers’ listing is the first step for self-reliance, he said that the registration of farmers was a milestone in digitisation of agriculture and also helped achieve the government goal ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali.”
Prime Minister Oli said that one year of COVID-19 had affected the development of the country but not so much in agriculture.
On the occasion, Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development Padma Kumari Aryal said that the present government was trying to identify the real farmers by addressing the grievances of the past.
“The support and facilities will go to the targeted farmers directly after the classification of farmers. Now, the farmers’ grievances will come to end,” she said.
Stating that it has moved towards becoming self-reliant in agriculture by producing in large areas, she said that they were working to make the country self-reliant in the next two years and steps will be taken for export within five years.
She said that the listing would boost the morale of the farmers and make them responsible.
Minister Aryal urged all concerned bodies, including Province and Local governments, farmers and others, to make the farmers listing campaign a success and commercialise the agriculture sector.
Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development Dr. Yogendra Kumar Karki said that the agriculture sector had entered digitisation with the launching of farmers’ registration.
“A personal account of each household will be created after updating the basic information of the farmers, each of whom will get an identification number,” he said, adding, “The listing will mainly include details concerning the farmer registration, family, farmland and agriculture and animal husbandry.”
He added that the classification of the farmers would help in making agricultural programmes and subsidies more effective and efficient as they would directly reach the needy farmers.
The farmers’ listing campaign will run with the coordination of federal, provincial and local government, he said, adding that the local government would be more responsible to register the farmers reaching farmers’ doorstep.
Nona Deprez, Ambassador, European Union Delegation to Nepal, said that EU was always ready to join hands with the government of Nepal for Nepal’s economic development along with agriculture sector.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has developed the system with the support of European Union.