Government to ban import of harvester

KATHMANDU:

The government is set to ban the import of harvester machines citing its use is destroying animal feed like rice and wheat straw and also causing an adverse environmental impact as farmers deliberately set fire to the straw stubble in the field after the grains have been harvested.

Burning straw stubble (as bio mass) has adverse impact on the environment because of high

carbon emissions, which is a global concern. The latest effort by the Nepal government is in line with various countries trying to reduce carbon emissions to minimise the impact of climate change.

The Ministry of Agricultural Development (MoAD) has said that it has sent the proposal to ban the import of harvesters to the Cabinet through the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS).

“If approved, farmers will not be allowed from renting it as well,” said Udaya Chandra Thakur, spokesperson for MoAD. Farmers in the Tarai region mostly rent harvesters from India.

As per Thakur, the government, however, will allow import of harvesters with bailing machine. A harvester with bailing machine also bales the hay while harvesting the food grains and the farmers need not burn the straw afterwards.

The government had banned harvesters earlier as well, but had to roll back its decision as farmers (of Tarai) launched a mass protest.“As farmers are deliberately setting the straw stubbles on fire, it has adverse impact on the environment, so the MoAD has decided to ban the import of harvesters,” Thakur stated.

He assured that importers and farmers who import and hire combine harvesters will not face any hassles at the customs point.

If the new law is implemented, farmers who have been hiring harvesters at cheaper rates from India will surely be affected.

“The farmers had launched their protest earlier due to similar reasons,” said Krishna Poudel, agriculture expert, adding, “The government should ensure subsidies for hiring or importing combine harvester machine before banning import of harvesters.”

Poudel further said that the government is going to ban import due to environmental reason rather than animal feed protection. “A farmer knows better than to destroy animal feed,” according to him.

He urged the government to announce subsidy for importing or hiring a combine harvester, which costs more than a harvester, to effectively translate the initiative to protect the environment.

Source: THT