By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Apr. 7: A three-day symposium kicked off in the capital with the objective of discussing the micro-nutrient status of cultivable soils and the use of improved varieties of seeds, fertilisers and agricultural implements required for increasing agricultural productivity.

The national symposium on ‘major agricultural input, supply, provincial agricultural and subsidy mechanism in Nepal’, jointly organised by Salt Trading Corporation (STC) and Indian Potash Limited (IPL) with the technical assistance of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development to discuss various issues related to modernisation of agriculture.

Senior officials of the government of Nepal, officials of the provincial governments, agricultural scientists, stakeholders and eminent agricultural scientists of India attended the programme.
According to the STC, the purpose of the seminar is to discuss the situation of fertilisers, seeds and tools essential for agriculture in Nepal and the measures to be taken to improve the situation in the federation and provinces.

During the discussion, necessary suggestions will be received to increase the effectiveness of improved varieties of seeds, fertilisers and agricultural subsidies.
The international trade of agricultural products will also be discussed in the seminar. There will also be an exchange of experiences on agricultural subsidies in neighbouring India.
Inaugurating the seminar, Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development Dr. Govinda Sharma said that Nepal is dependent on chemical fertilisers and has been distributing to farmers by importing so far.

He mentioned that Nepal used to import from India and other countries through tenders and G2G and supply it to the farmers.
The rising price of fertilisers and low production in the international market is affecting import and distribution to farmers for the last few years as per the target.
The government has been supplying around only 60-70 per cent of the national demand.

Presenting a paper on fertiliser policy and subsidy mechanism in Nepal, joint secretary at the MoALD Dr. Kamal Raj Gaire said that the government has supplied only around 352,000 tonnes of chemical fertiliser in the fiscal year 2020/21 out of the national demand of 520,000 tonnes.

Due to the rising price of fertiliser, the government has increased budget allocation for import and distribution of subsidised fertiliser for the current fiscal year to Rs. 27.9 billion.
Agriculture Inputs Company Limited (AICL) and STC are importing and distributing subsidised chemical fertiliser.

Niru Dahal Pandey, secretary for MoALD, stressed on the need for timely and quality use of chemical fertilisers for increasing production and productivity of agricultural crops.
She said that every sector would benefit from the production if fertiliser was used according to the quality of the soil.

On the occasion, Chief executive Officer of STC Urmila Shrestha expressed hope that the symposium would be helped for addressing the problems of fertiliser supply by introducing policies and programmes in this regard. 

The Corporation is committed to improving the agricultural sector of Nepal and increasing agricultural production by making proper use of quality fertiliser, improved seeds and tools, she said.
On the occasion, Neeraj Sharma, IPL GM, said that IPL was ready to provide support in the field of agriculture and boost production and productivity in Nepal.