By Ajay Chhetri, Kathmandu, Jan. 9: Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development, Mahindra Ray Yadav, has stressed the need for a major shift in policy and structure in the agriculture sector so as to the country self-reliant on agriculture production.

Addressing the 25^th annual general meeting (AGM) of "Nepal Agriculture Economics Society " (NAES) at the Department of Agriculture today, the Minister also acknowledged the contribution of agriculture economists and experts to formulation of the policy, plans and vision in agriculture and also urged them to provide their expertise in the future also.

A member of the National Assembly, Dr. Khim Lal Devkota, presented working paper titled 'Effective linkage strategy and options among 3- tiers of government for agriculture transformation in Nepal', and pointed out the lack of coordination among the three tiers of the government in planning and implementation of the programme.

He made it a point when he said there is lack of Agriculture Act, and added that a member of the National Assembly or the Upper House has presented a resolution proposal for the development of agriculture sector.

Similarly, economists cum political analyst Dr. Hari Roka presented a working paper on 'Role of cooperatives in import substitution & overall agri-development in Nepal'.

He said that as a model, cooperative needed to be adapted according to the current scenario.

Saying that import of agriculture has been continuously increasing over the years, he pointed out the need to take measures to lessen such imports to avoid a precarious situation in the agriculture sector.

He was of the view that a broad research is needed to make an outline of the vision and policies for overall agriculture development.

Economist Dr. Achyut Wagle, presented a paper titled 'Supply chain management in agriculture in Nepal'.

He said that there is a lack of study on supply chain management in Nepal. However, he viewed that 2 cold stores in each province by the government could be a solution for the storage of excess production in each province.

He viewed that the concept of the Mandi model being adopted in Punjab of India and fixing minimum support price of agriculture outputs could be a few measures. Dr. Wagle emphasised on encouraging foreign direct investment in agriculture.